


Lamb

by trishabooms



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Bestiality, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2019-05-25 02:38:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 64,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14967311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trishabooms/pseuds/trishabooms
Summary: The results of a recent blood test see accountant Jared Padalecki summoned to the CDC for tests, only to find that things are far from what they seem. Jared is a candidate, sought by a race of aliens. If that wasn’t bad enough, there are other countries who will go to any lengths to ensure that their candidate is the one, even if that means murder. Rescued, by who he believes to be Secret Service agents, Jared is whisked away to a house in Montana, owned by enigmatic billionaire Jensen Ackles and his unusual ‘family’.  Who is Jensen Ackles anyway, and why is he so interested in Jared?





	Lamb

**Author's Note:**

> Huge, huge thanks to my beta - cookiemom6067, who was endlessly patient and helpful. I don't think I could have asked for a more intuitive artist than TX_DEVILORANGEL, who has produced some incredible art to accompany the story.
> 
> It's been a long held ambition for me to complete a Big Bang challenge and I've really enjoyed writing this one.

**Center for Disease Control and Prevention.**

**CDC twenty-four seven. Saving Lives, Protecting People**

 

_****_

_Dear Mr Padalecki,_

_You recently attended an appointment with Dr. Amir Khan during which you provided a sample of your blood for analysis. The sample revealed an anomaly which,  while not revealing any significant risk to your health at this time, does require further investigation. An appointment has been made for you to attend the Walter Wyman Clinic in Mayhew, Texas for a complete physical examination and further tests. This appointment will require an overnight stay._

_Transportation details are listed below. Any reasonable additional costs, together with loss of pay, will be reimbursed by the US Government. Further details regarding your stay – including what to/not to bring with you - can be found…_

 

 

Jared must have read that fucking letter twenty times since he found it in his mail box. Each time he read it it scared him more than the last.

“Time to bite the bullet Jared,” he told his empty apartment as he picked up his phone and flicked through his contact list.

It seemed to ring forever before a chirpy voice answered. “Dr Khan’s office.”

“Hey Monica, it’s Jared Padalecki.” He’d known Monica since high school, she’d been chirpy then too. “Any chance I could speak to Dr. Khan?”

“I’ll see if he’s free Jared. Let me put you on hold.” Before he could get another word in Adele’s ‘When We Were Young’ forced its tinny way out of his phone. Why the hell anyone would choose Adele songs for a doctor’s office he had no idea, it was pretty much all slit your wrists music, in his opinion. Adele was half way through ‘Chasing Pavements’ and, whilst he could appreciate the irony of the song choice, it wasn’t exactly calming him down.

“Sorry for the wait, Jared,” Monica told him. “I’m putting you through to Dr. Khan now.”

There was a click and then. “Jared, good afternoon. How can I help you?”

“I erm, I have this letter from the CDC…”

“Ah yes, I thought that might be why you were calling. I received a letter from them myself.”

“So, what’s going on? It’s only been a couple of weeks since my physical; you said I was in perfect health. Now I get this fucking letter!”

“No need for profanity, Jared.”

“No,” he admitted. “Sorry, it’s just…”

“You’re concerned and I can understand that. Let me reassure you that nothing untoward showed up in your physical, you’re in peak physical health, Jared. In fact, you’re probably the healthiest patient I have.”

“So what’s this blood test anomaly all about? I don’t understand.”

“I’ll be honest, the letter they’ve sent me doesn’t give any details but the CDC is notorious for that kind of thing. I sent your blood test off to the usual lab and what I suspect has happened is that your test was possibly part of a sampled range of blood tests from different laboratories. They do that occasionally. Your appointment at the Walter Wyman Clinic is with Professor Marton Dietrich, he’s a geneticist. I sent a copy of your medical records off to him today. I’m of the opinion that this is some kind of genetic survey.”

“But wouldn’t they need my permission for that?”

Dr. Khan seemed to think about it. “Would you have given it, Jared?”

“No, but…”

“My advice to you is not to worry. I very much doubt that there is anything wrong with you, in fact your enviable good health may well have something to do with why they want to see you. If I am mistaken and there is something wrong then you really couldn’t be in better hands, I’ve read some of Professor Dietrich’s papers. He has an extraordinary reputation…”

“So you think I should go?” He cut to the chase.

“Jared! We’re talking about the CDC here; you have a choice, but I would consider your options very seriously.”

“Really?” Jared shook his head.

“Look at it this way my friend; you have a paid absence from work that you’ll spend at one of the most exclusive clinics in the country having a check-up. End of story.”

He let out a heavy sigh. “I’m not happy about this.”

“I can understand that, truly. You could look at it another way however.”

“And what would that be?”

“Do it for me. I’d hate to think I’d missed something.”

Jared found himself nodding. “So would I.”

It was easy for Dr. Khan to tell him not to worry but he hadn’t been the one to receive the fucking letter out of the blue. Still, he’d been reassuring – almost - and he knew he’d be a damn fool not to go, so he decided to go with what the doc was saying and try not to panic. He also decided not to tell his momma or anyone else - except work, of course. His momma would have panicked enough for the both of them.

 

_________________________

 

The CDC didn’t do things halfway. They’d provided him with a ticket for the 421 Texas Eagle that left San Antonio at a ridiculous two forty-five in the morning, arriving at Sanderson over five and a half hours later. He’d packed a book to read on the train but barely read a thing. His mind had been way too full for that, plus he’d slept for a good couple of hours. At Sanderson, he’d been met from the train by two suited guys who’d identified themselves as CDC but Jared wasn’t too sure. He was pretty certain that one of them was wearing a shoulder holster. From there, he’d been transferred to a waiting SUV and driven for another two hours to Mayhew. He’d made a couple of attempts at small talk that had failed dismally, so he’d given up after that and watched the Texas scenery go by, grateful that the car at least had air-conditioning.

The Walter Wyman Clinic was in the middle of fucking nowhere. As Jared climbed out of the SUV, bag in hand, he studied the building in front of him. It was an ugly-ass place, white and flat roofed with a band of black glass windows across its wide front.

It was a blessing to get inside, out of the burning hot sun and in to the chill of the air-conditioned interior. His two escorts followed him in as he made his way over to the vast desk, manned by a dark haired woman in a grey business suit that had been made to look less formal by the addition of a pale pink scarf. The Wyman Clinic badge on her jacket revealed her name was Jennie Carver.

“Hi,” he smiled at her. “I have an appointment. Jared Padalecki.”

 He watched her check on her computer screen. “Good morning Mr Padalecki. If you’d like to take a seat I’ll let Professor Deitrich’s office know you’re here.”

“Thank you.” He went over to the nearest batch of white leather couches and sat down. The seats weren’t exactly built for comfort, especially for anyone with legs as long as his, and he was grateful when a white uniformed nurse appeared within a few minutes.

“Mr Padalecki,” she smiled at him. “If you’d like to follow me?”

He nodded, grabbing his bag and following her out of the reception area, through glass doors to a bank of elevators and up to the third floor. The nurse was tiny with a head of pretty blonde curls and wide blue grey eyes. Friendly too, insisting he call her Emily, rather than the Nurse Peters that was printed on her badge.

“Here we are,” she told him as the elevator doors opened. “Let me show you to your room.”

He was in 5A. A nice enough room, he guessed, for a hospital stay, though he’d never actually spent time in a hospital before. Apart from the bed there was a wardrobe, a chair and table, cabinets at each side of the bed and a door led off to a small bathroom. The only thing that threw him a little was the tinted window, which didn’t seem to open or have either curtains or a blind.

“They’re light sensitive,” the nurse told him, a smile in her voice. “Everyone finds them a bit weird. The lights work on the same system, it’s part of the buildings climate control system.”

He shrugged. “Kinda fancy.”

“Pretty ugly if you ask me. I like my curtains, personally.”

“Yeah,” He gave her a smile. “I think you’re right.”

“Okay then. I have some admission documents and consent forms for you to sign here.” She indicated the various places he had to sign and initial, giving him another of her sunny smiles when he’d finished. “I’m going to leave you to put your things away. I’ll pop back with some scrubs for you to change into and then I’m gonna need some blood samples from you.”

The scrub pants were apparently the longest they had but they still flapped well above his ankles - a fact that Emily apologised profusely for as she drew four phials of his blood and swabbed the inside of his mouth.

“Okey dokey, we’re done here,” she told him, stripping off her gloves into the medical waste bin. She handed him a small, capped plastic cylinder. “I’m going to need a urine sample too, if you can. You can just leave that in the bathroom and I’ll come back and collect it. In the meantime I’m just going to get these over to the lab and then I’ll take you to meet the professor.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Peeing on demand was a bit of a challenge, having been to the toilet twice on the train, but he managed it and was just washing his hands when Emily came back.

“All set?” She asked him. “Did you manage to get me a urine sample?”

He nodded, feeling himself blush a little. “I left it in there.”

“That’s great. If you want to slip your robe on I’ll take you to meet Professor Deitrich.”

 

“Mr Padalecki.” The professor was a small, thin man with receding, dark hair and dark eyes under heavy brows. He’d stood up from his desk when Jared came in and moved from behind it, offering his hand. He had a surprisingly firm grip for such a slight man. “I trust the journey here wasn’t too taxing?” He asked as he indicated that Jared should take a seat.

“A bit of an early start but that’s okay.”

“Good, good. I don’t doubt you have a great many questions for me, the most important being why you’re here. So let’s get down to it, shall we?”

Jared gave him a nod.

“For a while now laboratories, not just here in the US but around the world, have been noticing certain anomalies when testing blood samples. The CDC, along with medical authorities from other countries, have been looking carefully at these samples. In most of the samples the changes we observed in the make-up of the blood were only slight but in others, a tiny percentage when you look at the world’s population, the changes were more pronounced. Once we discovered these changes we began to monitor all blood samples in an effort to find out how many people, worldwide, were affected. _You_ are one of only two people in the US who possesses what I suppose we could term super blood.”

“ _Super_ blood?”

“Very much so. Your blood still falls into basic blood groups – you’re unsurprisingly O positive. That’s the most common blood type in the United States. However, it’s not the same as everyone else’s. How’s your science Jared?”

“Far from my best subject, to be honest.”

“Then let me try and put it into layman’s terms for you.” He clasped his hands in front of him. “The blood has various functions. It supplies oxygen to the tissues, together with nutrients. It removes waste such as carbon dioxide, urea, and lactic acid. It has a number of immunological functions, it transports hormones, coagulates to stop bleeding, warns us of tissue damage and it regulates the bodies pH and the body temperature. _Your_ blood does all of these things but it does it ten times better than anyone else’s. It also seems to have other qualities that we’re still trying to understand.”

“But how?” Jared asked him. “I mean, is this not something I inherited from my parents?”

“Both your parent’s, grandmother’s and your brother’s blood show only miniscule traces of these differences, a fraction of one percent. Unfortunately, we aren’t able to go back any further, though there are traces in your cousins and your father’s sister.”

“So, why am I here?” Jared wanted to know.

“Because I suspect that it isn’t just your blood that’s different. That’s the reason I requested a copy of your medical records from your doctor. There’s not a lot to that file; no record of you ever being ill, Jared. You didn’t contract any of the usual childhood diseases. You never had a day off school, college or university. You’ve never had a day off work either, according to your employer. Can you remember a time that you were ever ill?”

Jared shook his head

“Upset stomachs, anything like that, things that you’ve just put up with?”

“The odd hangover, but no, I don’t really tend to catch things.”

“Your dentist informs me that you’ve never had any problems there either. He told me you’ve always had remarkably strong, healthy teeth, even when you were a child.”

“My mother was always big on us looking after our teeth.”

“I’m sure she was but what I’m seeing here, Jared, is a pattern of perfect health that, while it’s not unusual in itself, when it’s put together with your extraordinary blood properties makes me think that there’s more to this. What I’m going to do, over the next couple of days is put you through a very intense series of examinations and tests that might help us to understand why your blood is so extraordinary and if that’s the only thing unusual about you. I won’t sugar coat it for you Jared, this won’t be the easiest couple of days for you but the results won’t only answer a lot of questions about your own health but they could also prove to be highly beneficial to others.”

Jared took in a deep breath. “I guess I understand that.” He wasn’t really certain if he had a whole lot of choice where the CDC were concerned, but it might have been nice to be asked.

“Excellent. We’re going to get started right away beginning with a basic physical exam with Dr. Richardson and then we’ll move on to a CT scan and some exercise testing that will look at your lung and heart function. You have two very full days ahead of you, Jared. I’ll see you a little later.”

 

Jared tapped on the door of room 5A, opposite his own, opening the door when he heard a soft voice call out, “Come in.”

The girl sitting on the bed looked about twenty one, if she was that, and he noticed she had a large stuffed animal set on her pillow. She was a plain looking girl with gingery blonde hair that hung half way down her back. She looked about as good as he felt.

“Hey.” He smiled at her. “The nurse, Emily, told me you were here so I thought I’d come and say hello. I’m Jared. It seems we’re in here for the same thing.”

“I’m Lucy,” she told him, smiling through watery eyes, “Lucy Gregson, it’s nice to meet you.”

“You too. Are you okay?”

“I… No, not really,” she answered, lips quivering. “I just want to go _home_!” She burst into tears and Jared crossed the room to sit beside her on the bed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to give her a hug.

“Hey, hey now, don’t cry, Lucy. It’s okay.”

“No,” she rubbed at her nose. “No it isn’t though, is it? All-all these things they’re doing. I-I said no when the professor- when he told me one of the things he was going to do. They strapped me down, _restrained_ me an-and just did it anyway. They said I’d signed the consent forms but, they shouldn’t be allowed to do that, should they?” She looked up at him with pleading eyes.

“No,” He shook his head. “I don’t think they should, but…”

“We don’t have any choice, do we?”

“No.” He thought about the invasive shit he’d gone through today at the hands of  Deitrich and his cronies. “I guess we don’t, but that doesn’t make it right.”

“When I spoke to the professor this morning I thought he was okay, you know. I-I thought that it might be a really good thing when he told me it might help others. Did he tell you the same thing?”

“Yeah. I erm, I was kind of suspicious though. I’m like that.” He grinned, pleased when she smiled back. “Just one more day, Lucy, then we’re out of here. We can go home,” he reassured her. “Where are you from?”

“Chicago, originally, but I’m at UGA at the moment.”

“What are you studying?”

“Landscape Architecture.”

“Wow, that sounds pretty good.”

She smiled up at him. “It is. I love it. What about you, what do you do?”

He chuckled. “Are you ready to be bored? I studied accounting at Stanford and now, unsurprisingly, I’m an accountant.”

“You don’t look like an accountant,” She told him.

“It’s the hair, right?” He joked, happy when she laughed.

“I like the hair, besides, you’re breaking stereotypes, that can only be a good thing, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, breaking stereotypes,” Jared agreed with a grin. “I can go with that.”

_______________________________________

 

“Come!” Donald Elvington shouted in response to the knock on his door. Ordinarily, he liked to keep Deitrich waiting, the arrogant little prick, but not today. He was looking forward to seeing him knocked down a peg or two. The man had overruled him and treated him like he was a fucking idiot one too many times.

Deitrich took a seat without being asked, another thing that needed to change.

“So, Lucy Gregson and Jared Padalecki, tell me about them.”

“I don’t really know where to begin.” That surprised him; nothing usually stopped Deitrich from talking at him.

“Let’s start with Padalecki,” Donald prompted. “What about him?”

“All his test results are off the charts, he’s incredibly healthy. I’d go as far as to say bordering on superhuman. I thought Gregson would be similar considering the anomalies in their blood samples but we can let her go. Padalecki though, we can’t let him go any time soon, his physiology is fascinating, Donald. I’d go as far as to say that I think part of his genetic make-up may be extra-terrestrial.”

“ _What_?”

“That means that he could be part alien…”

“I know what it _fucking_ means, I just…” He shook his head. “What do you mean by _think_?”

“He seems to have embryonic additional organs, and again, I _think_ they’re connected to reproduction which is interesting, particularly because he’s sterile. At first I thought it might be Klinefelter syndrome, bearing in mind his height, but his chromosomes are quite unique. I’d be willing to go on record when I say that, in my opinion, _nothing_ about Padalecki is entirely human.”

“ _Real_ ly?” Elvington fought to hide his smile. Deitrich was a lunatic, he’d thought so for a while. Hopefully this latest crazy shit was going to prove him right. “So, these additional organs you think he has…”

“I need another day with Padalecki, at least. I’d like to surgically…”

He shook his head. “Not happening.”

“Seriously Donald, further research is vital if we’re to learn…”

“We have guests, who can’t be kept waiting, in the boardroom. A clutch of senators and the operational head of the NSA. They want to speak to both of us.”

Deitrich no longer looked quite so certain of himself. “What about?”

“Lucy Gregson and Jared Padalecki.”

Deitrich’s face blanched and, as much as he tried, Donald couldn’t resist a smile

__________________________

 

“In conclusion, gentlemen,” Senator Eddie Cibrian told the two men sat at the board room table in front of him, “You have both overstepped your boundaries, far beyond anything we would call excusable or acceptable. Your mandate was to identify and collate these rare blood type anomalies. That is _all_. You were _not_ given permission for this,” he told them, hand slapping down on the two medical files in front of him.

“With respect, Senator,” Donald Elvington spoke up. “We _are_ the nation’s health protection agency. I don’t see how it would benefit this nation if we _didn’t_ look into occurrences like this. I admit that some of the practices in this particular instance may have been somewhat over zealous and heavy handed.”

“ _May_ have been?” Senator Angie Harmon fixed him with an incredulous stare.

“ _Were_ ,” he said quickly. “Excuse my slip of the tongue. My point is that this may have been a threat to the nation’s health and that’s not something we can simply ignore.”

“And do you think that just explains away what’s been happening here over the last two days?” Harmon asked him.

“No,” he admitted. “No, I don’t.”

Titus Welliver sat forward, closing the file in front of him. “I think we’ve heard enough, _for_ _now_. Professor Deitrich, my men will escort you to your office. You’ll remain there until you’re sent for.”

“But I…”

Welliver’s eyes narrowed. “Leave now, or I’ll have you forcibly removed, is that clear?”

“Yes, Deitrich nodded, repeatedly. “Yes of course.”

He waited until the man had left the room. “What I’m about to tell you, Mr Elvington, is a matter of National Security. If _any_ of the information you’re about to hear leaves this room you will be found and arrested. Is that clear?”

“Crystal,” Elvington told him, puffing up like the pompous idiot he clearly was.

“Some months ago the world’s leaders, and I mean _all_ of them, were contacted personally in one twenty four hour period and given an ultimatum. Basically, we were told that if we didn’t shape up then our leaders would be removed from power and replaced.”

Elvington shook his head. “That’s preposterous!”

“Shut up, Elvington, and listen. These visitors weren’t human. They demonstrated that very clearly. They also aren’t new to our world.”

“They’ve been here before?”

“They’ve been here for centuries, pretty much as long as man has. They live among us and work alongside us. You can’t tell them apart unless they choose to show their true form and there are millions of them.”

Elvington leaned forward eagerly. “Padalecki’s one of them isn’t he? Him _and_ the girl!”

“Shut the _fuck_ up and listen,” he growled at the idiot. “To prove that they mean business, a force of them moved into North Africa, into every country and every state controlled by Boko Haram. They were accompanied by United Nations observers at their own request. Boko Haram virtually disappeared a few years ago but re-emerged in 2024 as a large, well-armed force and with superior intelligence sources, we suspect courtesy of ISIS. I can tell you that these terrorists were obliterated on _every_ front. Those who fled were hunted down and their leaders were handed over to the UN for questioning. It was an example of what they can do, not over a matter of months but in a few short weeks.” Titus had seen the video footage. The whole operation had been masterful and ruthless. “What they showed us over those weeks was that just a small force of these aliens pose an extraordinary threat to anyone they consider a threat to them. Other than blowing them to pieces we have absolutely no idea how to kill them. They self-heal, rapidly.

“Their annihilation of Boko Haram showed us that they mean business, and that’s without them using any kind of alien weaponry they may have. But, it was also coupled with the promise that these visitors are our allies and not our enemy. They want to work together with us to change this world. To date there’s not a single demand they’ve made that the majority of nations are unwilling to accept. Frankly,” he sighed. “We have no choice other than to agree with their demands. The President and Congress, for the most part, view this positively and though some of us might not be fully convinced, they’ve demanded nothing we’re unwilling to agree to.

“This blood testing fiasco is a part of their demands; a part that you and that _psycho_ that works with you, may have fucked up for the United States. All because you were either incapable or too arrogant to follow the instructions you were given. They’re looking for someone. That blood anomaly is the key. The people who have it are what we refer to as candidates.”

Elvington frowned. “Candidates for what exactly?”

“To become their leader’s mate.”

__________________________

 

“I don’t _want_ this.” Jared ground out the words for what had to have been the tenth time in the last fifteen minutes. “How many times do I have to say this, to make it clear to you people?” He looked around at the collected suits, four men and one woman who sat facing him with similar plastic, patronizing smiles on their faces. How could they even imagine that he would go along with this- this ludicrous nightmare?

“Look, kid… Jared…” Donald Elvington, the representative of the Center for Disease Control, was a tub of sweaty, fucking lard. Jared didn’t like him the moment he met him; he liked him even less now and refused to be patronised by him.

“Mr Padalecki.” He told him.

Elvington frowned in confusion. “What?”

Not the brightest crayon in the box this one, but pompous, and so frustrating that Jared wanted to rip off his ridiculous toupee and pound his head into the nearest wall.

“Mr Padalecki,” Jared repeated. “I don’t know you and _you_ don’t know me, so you _don’t_ get to call me Jared.”

Elvington reddened a little and Jared was pretty sure he’d pissed the guy off, which was a plus in his book. The false smile he’d been wearing earlier slowly came back and the man leaned forward in his chair. “Look son…”

“I’m _not_ your fucking son and I’m _not_ your fucking sacrificial lamb. You don’t get to trade me off like you _own_ me. You don’t!”

“Mr Padalecki.” Not Elvington this time but Titus Welliver. What exactly _he_ did Jared didn’t know but if he had to guess he’d put money on him being some kind of spook; CIA, or maybe some national security type. “This whole thing that’s going on here, do you think that _any_ of us want it, that we want to be here having this conversation with you?” He didn’t give Jared a chance to answer. “I can assure you that we don’t. We have lives, families, places we’d rather be, things that we’d rather do but we can’t! We can’t ignore this. We have a commitment to this country and to its people. We’re facing unexpected and extraordinary changes. There may well be a very real threat to this country unless we concede to their demands. A global threat…”

“How do you know that?” Jared asked him.

Welliver frowned and Jared could see the vein beside his right eye pulsing. “You can’t be serious. Do you think that this is some kinda fucking _joke_ Padalecki, huh? We have aliens in our midst. An insidious fucking nightmare that’s been dwelling among us for godamn centuries and you think it’s a _joke_!”

“You don’t want to know what _I_ think Mr Welliver, believe me, but a joke… Do I look like I find this in any way amusing? Did Lucy when you spoke to her? What I’m asking you is how do we know there’s a threat? What have they said or done other than told you the truth and asked for your help?”

“Help that you’ve made it perfectly clear that you’re unwilling to give, Mr Padalecki,” Welliver added.

“So what you’re saying is that if you were in my place or Lucy’s, if you’d gone through everything we’ve been through over the last two days - and just found out why - you’d be _okay_ with it? Jared shook his head. “Are you fucking _kidding_ me? You dragged me here under false pretences. You let me believe that something might be terribly wrong with me, just so you could do your fucking tests. You’ve tricked the people of this country, you’ve lied to them, lied to me and to Lucy. You’ve put us through two days of what I can only describe as pain and humiliation because we _might_ be fucking candidates for this… this nightmare. Did it occur to you that _I_ might have a life, a family, places _I’d_ rather be, things that _I’d_ rather do?  Find another candidate, I’m out.”

“There isn’t another one in the US, apart from maybe Lucy Gregson. She may not be the perfect fit but from what Dietrich was babbling it’s likely that _you_ are.”

“The _good_ thing is that Gregson is very different to you,” Donald Elvington cut in. “I guarantee you that that girl is a godamned patriot, willing to do her part to support her country.”

“Yeah? She might have been happy enough to do what was asked of her when she walked in here, have you spoken to her since, or at all? Did you hear her crying through the tests? Did you sit with your arms around her afterwards trying to make her feel better, reassuring her that it was over and she’d be able to go home soon? No you _didn’t_. None of you give a flying fuck about how we might be feeling. Lucy might have been willing at the outset, she didn’t know what was going on, and she was willing to trust the CDC and that bastard, Deitrich.”

“But you aren’t, are you Padalecki?” Elvington looked at him with disgust and he had no fucking right to do so, none at all.

“You tested the blood of everyone in the damn country to see who fit your criteria without telling them.” Jared snapped. “You brought me here under false pretences; put me through all these damned tests without telling me why. Have you any fucking idea how scared I’ve been; how fucking scared Lucy must have been? You’re damn right I don’t trust you! There are other candidates in other countries according to Dr Dietrich. You don’t need me.”

“Actually, we do,” Texas Senator Angie Harmon told him quietly. “It’s clear that the country with the chosen candidate will potentially have a great deal of influence in this new global mix we find ourselves in, Mr Padalecki. I’ll be honest and admit that I’m praying that it’s you or Lucy Gregson. Can you imagine what might happen if it turns out to be a Russian candidate, or a North Korean? What then? We’re in a potentially world changing situation and like you we’re in the dark about it, but we have to do what we can for the people of this country.” She gave a heavy sigh. “Not all of us were happy about the lack of information; the subterfuge that was used to find you and I apologise wholeheartedly for that and the unnecessary, inexcusable treatment you were given here, but I do believe that there’s a need for a candidate who, if chosen, will speak out for these United States.”

“I don’t…” Jared began.

“ _Please_ , Mr Padalecki, I know you’re angry and I understand why. All I ask is that you don’t give your answer here and now, just think about this, consider the implications.”

Jared offered her a smile he knew was weak but, as much as he liked her, he couldn’t offer her more. “What you’re asking is… it’s too much. I’m not going to change my mind Senator, I’m sorry.”

“Give us twenty four hours and your word that you’ll at least reconsider your answer if the need arises, please?”

Jared closed his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair. He was tired, this had all been too damn much; the stress since he’d received that fucking letter, not knowing if there was something seriously wrong with him. Coming here, the secrecy, not being allowed to contact anyone, then this whole fucking nightmare… “I’ll give you forty-eight hours and my word that I’ll think about this again but I want to go home, _now_.”

“There are national security implications.” Welliver shook his head. “At the present time I don’t think…”

“I’m sure Jared would be happy to sign any waivers we ask him to.” Senator Harmon smiled at him.

Jared nodded gratefully. “Whatever it takes, as long as I can go home.”

Donald Elvington glared at him. He knew the bastard would have something to say. “If any of this gets out, anything at all…”

“Just give me something to fucking sign!” He urged, before they changed their minds and locked him up here.

 

 

_______________________________

 

Jared wasn’t thrilled at being taken back to the hospital room after his meeting with Elvington and the other suits, but his bag was still there and his jacket. The door to his room was open and Nurse Peters – Emily- was in there. She’d already put his coat and jacket on the chair by the door.

“Hi Jared!” She had one hell of a lovely smile. “I heard you were getting sprung so I thought I’d come, say goodbye. I got your things together while I was waiting.”

“Thanks so much Emily, for everything. This last two days would have been even worse without you. I…” He shrugged, giving her a smile. “I’m grateful.”

“Just get over here and give me a hug Padalecki.”

He didn’t have to be asked twice. If things had been different he might even have asked her if she wanted to meet up for a drink sometime, but right now he didn’t want any reminders of this place, not even one as gorgeous as Emily. He broke the hug, pulling apart from her.

“I hear you said your goodbyes to the professor too,” she grinned, raising a brow.

“Erm, yeah, it was the least I could do.” He rubbed at the still tender knuckles on his right hand. Dietrich was hopefully still nursing the black eye Jared had given him when the sick, sanctimonious, bastard had had the nerve to come and wish him and Lucy goodbye after their meetings. Security hadn’t exactly been gentle when they’d pulled him off, he knew he’d have more than a few bruises by morning, but it had been fucking worth it.

“Right then,” he suddenly found himself at a loss what to say. “I’m going to pop across the hall, say my goodbyes to Lucy.”

“She’s already gone,” Emily pouted.” Sorry, Jared. Your car should be here shortly.”

“Oh.” He would have liked to say goodbye to her, he liked Lucy.

“She asked me to give you her love,” Emily told him. “She was sorry she had to miss you but erm - I think she was happy to be getting out of here. I have to get back to work so… Take care, Jared, it’s been nice meeting you. Someone will come up to get you once your car has arrived.”

“Okay and thanks again.”

She gave him a little wave as she left the room.

He didn’t want to stay in his room, he’d seen more than enough of it, so instead he took his stuff and sat down on one of the chairs in the corridor. He rubbed his hands over his face. He felt bone weary, knew he needed to sleep, but he wasn’t about to let himself do that here. He’d signed a bunch of papers; release forms that all said pretty much the same thing – if he told anyone what had happened or had been discussed here, he’d be in breach of national security and would be thrown in prison. Part of him wanted to shout this shit from the rooftops, tell the world what was going on, that he’d been duped, virtually kidnapped and subjected to… No, maybe he didn’t want to shout _that_ from the rooftops. He didn’t want to even think about Professor Dietrich, or the invasive shit the bastard had done to him, _ever_ again. Trouble was, every time he closed his eyes, or had a minute alone, that was _all_ he could fucking think about. He needed to get out of this damn place but it didn’t seem like they were in any hurry to take him home.

He remembered that he’d packed a book in his bag, back when he thought this shit was just about something that had shown up wrong in the blood tests and he was just gonna have a couple of tests at the clinic – nothing to worry about. He opened the front pocket of his rucksack and pulled it out. It was a battered paperback; ‘Scratching Souls’ by Emmanuelle Vaugier, a sci-fi novel that had caught his eye. He’d not got far in, just a couple of pages into chapter two but the story of the unlikely hero; Maddison’s search for the man who had attacked her on the way home from her office was already shaping up pretty well.

“Mr Padalecki?” Jared looked up at the sound of the voice to see a guy in a black suit with the obligatory earpiece that marked him as some kind of government spook, standing in the doorway. “The car’s ready, sir.”

Jared nodded, folding the corner down on his page, near the end of chapter four and stowing the book back in his bag before following the guy outside to the waiting SUV.  He wasn’t in much of a talkative mood but the guy didn’t try and make conversation.

“The SUV will take you to the airport Mr Padalecki. There’s a plane waiting for you.”

Jared just nodded. He didn’t thank the guy the way he usually would. It was rude of him, he knew, and not something he would typically do but he was all out of manners.

___________________________

 

Angie Harmon leaned on the top rail of the balcony and watched as the black, unmarked SUV drove away from the complex, taking Jared Padalecki back home. It hadn’t been easy getting the CDC or Elvington to agree to let either of them go at first, but Titus had waved the National Security card and dropped the presidents name more than once. Elvington was an asshole, a rich Republican asshole who loved the power that the Center for Disease Control’s Office gave him. Rumour had it that Elvington had political ambitions, an idea that made her shudder. If the bastard ever got into _any_ type of office they’d be fucked, that’s if they weren’t already.

“Do you think he’ll reconsider?” Eddie Cibrian asked her as he joined her on the balcony.

“No,” she admitted, “would you?” She reached into her pocket and pulled out the cigarettes and lighter she’d brought out with her.

“You know the clinic is a no smoking zone, right?” Eddie grinned.

“I really don’t give a shit. What we’ve done…” She lit one, taking a long slow drag as she watched the car disappear over the horizon. “It’s all smoke and mirrors anyway, if Padalecki, or the girl, turns out to be the one then I pity them.”

Cibrian frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Do you really think they’ll just let them go, give them a choice? They can’t afford to do that. Until we know who the chosen candidate will be they’re never going to be out of their sight and if one of them is this fucking chosen one they won’t _have_ a choice. The crazy thing is that Padalecki was right, you know; we don’t know if there’s any kind of threat.”

 “And we don’t know that there isn’t,” Eddie told her. “This whole thing scares the crap out of me, Angie. How could we _not_ know they were out there? What if there’s something else out there we don’t know about?”

She stared out into the darkness. “We’re just so fucking impressed by our own sense of self-worth and superiority we never thought to look.”

 

_________________________________________

 

The SUV just had a driver and another man in the seat that faced his. He hadn’t seen either of them before. The man in the back with him wore the mandatory black suit, white shirt and black tie, but what was different about him was his hair. He didn’t have the usual buzz cut; his hair was collar length at the back with heavy parted bangs at the front. He realised that the guy was looking right back at him, a smirk on his face.

“So what are you?” Jared asked him, “Cop, FBI?”

“Just here to look out for you, Mr Padalecki. That doesn’t need a title does it?”

Secret Service then, NSA maybe, Jared wasn’t sure, it just seemed like overkill and he shrugged, suddenly too tired to care. “ _Whatever_ , man.”

“It’s a ten minute drive to the airport then you can get some rest on the plane, and you’ll be there in a few hours.”

A thought suddenly occurred to him: “You’re just gonna take me home – my home- no tricks?”

“We can’t take you to your home, or your parent’s house, not just yet. We’ll find you a hotel for…”

“I’m _not_ going to a fucking hotel, I’m going to my own fucking apartment, I’m going to call my folks and…”

“You’ll need your phone for that.”

His phone! He’d forgotten all about it. “One of your fellow what-evers _took_ my phone. I asked for it back but…”

“I have it.” The man reached into the pocket of his coat and handed the phone to him. He didn’t release his hold on it right away. “Don’t turn it on until we’re on the plane, okay?”

“Why not?”

“Because every government who has a ‘ _candidate’_ is going to want theirs to be _the_ one. It may be that some of the less fair-minded among them might want to eliminate the competition. It would be pretty damned stupid of them, but they’re not all dealing from a full deck, kid. That’s why I don’t want you to turn your phone on here in the car where I can’t block a trace and why you’re going to a hotel, not your apartment or your parents’ place. You with me now?” The man asked him, releasing his grip on the phone.

He couldn’t stop his hand from shaking as he took the phone back and slipped it into his jacket pocket.

“Jared.” The use of his first name startled him. “Do as I ask you and I’ll keep you safe, okay?”

He felt suddenly cold, as though someone had drawn every trace of heat from his body. He was pretty sure he’d have fallen if he wasn’t already sitting down. This whole thing was like some kind of nightmare and there wasn’t an end in sight. He gave the man a nod, words for once beyond him.

___________________________

 

Jared phoned his momma as soon as the plane was in flight, the security guy plugging a little device into it that flashed green.

“Hey momma.”

“Jared!” For once the sound of her voice made him smile, feel calmer and less like he was unravelling. “It’s not like you to phone on Saturday night. Is everything okay?”

“Just fine,” he lied. “I’ve been away for a couple of days. A work thing,” he added self-consciously. “I thought I’d call, see how you were.”

“Did you go someplace nice?”

“No, just some conference venue in the middle of nowhere. Not a lot of fun involved.” There was a fucking understatement. “Have you had a good day?”

“Your Aunt Emily and I had a trip into the city with the ladies of the church committee. We had our nails done, our eyebrows waxed – would you believe – then we went for lunch and did a little shopping.” He could hear the happiness in her voice. “It was a lovely day.”

“Sounds good, momma, you should treat yourself more often,” he told her.

“Maybe I should!” She laughed. “What about you, do you have any plans for tomorrow?”

“It’s been a tiring couple of days. I’m just gonna laze around.”

“Oh _honey_. You can always come home, have dinner…”

“Thanks momma,” he cut her off, “but I plan to sleep late, laze around, eat junk food and maybe sit in the sun for a while. I’ll try and get over to see you guys soon though.”

“Okay, baby, you just get some rest. Love you.”

“Love you too, momma. Bye.” It had been easy to lie to her, _too_ easy and he didn’t like it.

Jared turned to the security guy. “My parents, my family, will they be safe?”

“There’s a security detail keeping a discreet watch on your parents and your brother and his family. They’re safe.”

Jared swallowed giving the man a grateful nod.

“You should eat something, there are sandwiches…”

“I’m not that hungry.”

“Fair enough but you need to drink. There’s coffee, soda…”

“Do you have any milk?”

“I’ll take a look.”

He came back a few minutes later with a carton of milk, a glass, a plate with two thick, roast beef sandwiches and a slice of cheesecake. “I’m gonna check in with the pilot,” he told Jared. “Just give me a yell if you need anything.”

“What do I yell?” Jared asked him.

“Huh?”

“Your name?”

“Kane, Chris Kane.”

Jared ate the sandwiches, they looked and smelled too good not to. He pulled his book from his bag and read the next chapter while working his way through the slice of cheesecake and the milk.

He woke up to the man – Kane he remembered – shaking his shoulder. “We’re about to land at Bergstrom. You need to put your seatbelt on.”

He felt tired, more than a little disoriented. He felt around for his belt and as he did so he noticed his book on the table in front of him, his page marked with a paper napkin. It was a weirdly thoughtful thing to do, a small kindness that stood out from the dehumanizing, coldness of the last two days.

Airports, to Jared, meant long delays between landing and disembarking, together with endless queueing for baggage. Not here though, not today. A sleek, black, luxury limousine had pulled to a halt alongside the plane, the door held open for him by yet another black suited security man. The guy, Kane, ushered him in and once more took the seat opposite him as the car sped off.

“There’s a mini bar if you want a drink, tv, music…”

“I’m good, thanks.” Jared told him.

“Not much of a drinker?”

“Not really. I like the odd beer, a nice wine but I have to be in the mood. If you’d asked me a few hours ago I might have said yes to something stronger but…”

“Time and place?”

“Yeah, I guess so, you?”

“I like a beer, not much of a wine drinker, but I like a drop of Patron, right time, right place.” He grinned.

“I’m a Cuervo man myself, don’t mess with a classic.”

“That’s girly shit.”

Jared barked out a laugh. “Apparently girls prefer Herradura.”

“Yeah?” he drawled, “Who says?”

“I think I read it somewhere.”

“Or maybe a pretty girl told you?” The man, Kane raised an eyebrow.

“Nope, I’m pretty sure I read it.”

“You read a lot, huh? You seem pretty hooked on that book of yours.”

“It’s good, well so far it is - and yeah, I probably do read a lot. It makes a change from numbers, I’m an accountant.”

“You don’t look like an accountant. When people say accountant, I think of some fifty-something guy with wire framed glasses and a comb-over, not a messy haired, muscle packing giant.”

Jared ignored the comment about his hair. He found himself remembering what Lucy had said. “I like to break stereotypes. What about you? Forgive me for saying this – and don’t kill me with your pinky finger or anything – but aren’t you a little on the short side for this secret service, bodyguard stuff? And where’s the buzz-cut?”

“Killing with the pinky finger?” He grinned. “You’re reading too _many_ books, man. As for the rest; I like to break a few stereotypes myself.”

“So are you gonna tell me what part..?”

Chris Kane held his hand up, his gaze slipping away from Jared as the other hand touched his earpiece. “That didn’t take long,” he replied to whoever had to be talking into his ear. “Damn place had more leaks than my Granma’s bucket. Let’s go with plan B, and let the boss know.” He paused. “Because keeping him informed keeps him happy and that’s what we like, plus it’s your job. Nope, no. Tom’s good at this shit. Ten minutes, okay?”

His attention snapped back to Jared. “I need you to do some things for me. The first thing is to fasten your seat belt. The second is to listen really carefully while you do that. We have company,” he continued, “which we were expecting. They picked us up at Bergstrom, moved closer as we approached the city. We’re not gonna try and lose them, we’re gonna give them exactly what they’re expecting until we get to the hotel. I scanned your clothes and your bag while you were sleeping on the plane.” He put his hand in his coat pocket and showed Jared two black disks the size of suit buttons. “There was a tracker in your bag and another in the lining of your jacket. The plan is that we walk into the hotel and through the lobby. We’ll dump the trackers in the hotel so our friends behind us think you’re in there, but we’re heading straight out the back where an associate of ours, Tom Hardy, will be waiting with transport to take us somewhere safe, where you can spend the night. All I need you to do is stay right beside me and do exactly as I tell you. The people who are following us are working for other countries with candidates of their own. They want all the candidates, except their own, dead.”

Jared frowned. “But that doesn’t make any sense. What if their candidate isn’t the one? What if they kill the one who is?”

“They’re desperate to know who the candidate will be but there’s no way for them to tell. They believe that whoever has the successful candidate will have power, they’re hoping it’s their own but they don’t want it to be anyone else’s.”

“What about Lucy?” Jared suddenly thought. “Is she safe?”

“Similar arrangements have been made to make sure she’s safe but we’re not in contact with her team. I can’t tell you any more than that, I’m sorry.”

Jared nodded quickly, understanding. “When will it be over, when will they know who the candidate is, do you know?”

“Tomorrow, I believe.”

Jared blanched. “So quickly, but I thought…”

“It’s better isn’t it, that this is going to be over quickly, so you’re all safe?”

“Yeah, yes of course, I just thought that… I mean, if it turns out to be me, I-I’d like some time. I’d want to speak to my folks, I…” He’d want to run like hell and never stop.

“Are you afraid, Jared?” Kane asked, softly.

“Wouldn’t you be?” He snapped without meaning to.

“Being afraid is all about the not knowing, about letting your imagination get the upper hand.”

“So if it were you you’d just face this head on.”

“What other option makes sense? If I ran, the bad guys would come after me to kill me. My own people would be searching for me too. What kind of life would that be? I wouldn’t even know if the life I was running away from was as bad as I thought. Would it be worse than a lifetime on the run, or being hunted down and murdered?”

“So, if you’re the candidate your options are shit, is that what you’re saying?”

“I’m saying don’t let your imagination overrule your common sense.”

Easy enough to say, not so easy to do.

______________________

 

“Keep your head down,” Kane told him as the limo pulled up outside the hotel and they quickly got out. “Just keep moving, straight inside.”

Jared did what he was told, bag in hand, eyes taking in the sumptuous nature of the hotel. It wasn’t somewhere he could afford to stay and it certainly wasn’t the kind of place where he fit in, especially dressed the way he was. It was late, but there were still guests coming in and going out; men in fancy suits and women in the kind of dresses his momma cooed over in fashion magazines. It sounded like there was a firework display nearby, he could hear pops and bangs and a sudden flash of light seemed to warm the side of his face. He didn't dare turn around to look, he just wanted to get inside. Kane grabbed his elbow, guiding him past the reception desk towards a guy with dark, neatly cut hair, he looked mid-thirties maybe. The guy was broad, muscular looking, but immaculately dressed in a three piece black suit, white shirt and dark grey tie. He moved forward to meet them. Judging by the way he was dressed he was probably the hotel manager. He wasn’t sure his own casual ensemble would meet with the guy’s approval.

“Kane,” he gave the smaller man a nod. “All set?”

“We’re good. Jared, this is…”

“Tom Hardy, at your service,” the dark-haired man said – in what was clearly a British accent. He pulled a carefully folded handkerchief from his top pocket and held it out to him. “You need to hold this to your cheek. Give me your bag.” He took it from Jared’s unresisting hand.

“My cheek? What?” He reached up to touch it, surprised when his fingers came away wet and dark with what he realised was blood. It wasn’t until that moment that he realised it was hurting.

“Silencer,” Kane said quickly. “One of the bullets hit the wall beside you. It’s just a graze from the chippings. Cover it up, Jared, we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves and we need to keep moving.”

“That was the noise,” Jared realised. “I thought there were fireworks going off.”

The man, Hardy, grabbed his arm. “I’m guessing we’re on plan B?” He asked Kane as the three of them made their way through the hotel foyer.

Kane nodded. “We need to keep Jared safe at all costs.”

A thought suddenly occurred to him. “What about Lucy?” He stopped walking and faced Kane. “We need to find out if she’s safe.”

“To try and contact her team now would just put her, and us, in more danger. My priority is protecting you and right now we need to get you out of here. We need to keep moving Jared, we can’t stay here, okay?”

He nodded, knew he had to trust the man, what other choice did he have? Moving quickly, they followed Hardy along first one corridor and then another, towards a door marked with a kitchen sign. Jared felt disoriented and more than a little confused. The idea that someone was trying to kill him was like something out of a movie, but this was no film, it was terrifyingly real. As they pushed through the kitchen door they were met by silent stares from the staff there. He wondered why there was anyone there at all. There weren’t many of them but it was late in the evening. Maybe they were there in case anyone ordered room service.

“Who’s our driver?” Kane asked Hardy.

“Murray, he’s right outside with Aldis.”

They crashed out through a rear door into an alley overflowing with garbage cans. There was no limo waiting for them this time. Instead there was a blacked out Tahoe with its powerful engine running.

Hardy pulled back the door. “Quick as you can, Jared, we need to get you out of here.”

He’d barely gotten his seat belt fastened before they were out of the alley and into the street. “Are we going to another hotel?” he asked Kane, who was sat beside him.

“Too risky.”

“But those bug things you found…”

Kane leaned forward and moved Jared’s hand, still holding the handkerchief, away from his cheek and took a look at it in the light of the Tahoe’s sectioned off interior.

“They’re planted inside the hotel but they won’t fool these guys for long; they’re good, probably Russian. A few more inches to the right and that shot would have taken your head off. We can’t take chances Jared, we need to get you out of Texas, you understand that, don’t you?”

“But I…” The bullet had almost hit him, almost _killed_ him. He could feel himself shaking, couldn’t stop it and he felt so fucking ashamed.

“Take it easy, Jared, you’re okay,” Kane told him patiently. “Being in Texas is too risky, I can’t let you stay here.”

“What about my family?”

“They’re safer without you close. We have people on them, to keep them that way. They’re in good hands I promise you.”

“If something were to happen to them…”

“I give you my word they’ll be safe.”

Jared stared into the man’s dark blue eyes, praying that what he was saying was the truth; that nothing would happen to them. He gave Kane a reluctant nod. “Okay.”

Kane gave him a brief smile before looking over to the man, Tom. “Nearest airport for the jet”

He pulled out his phone. “I’m on it. I take it Jared’s going to the house?”

“Safest place.” He turned his attention back to Jared’s cheek. “It’s stopped bleeding but once we get you settled I’ll get someone to take a look at that, make sure there’s no stone fragments or dust in the wound. You don’t need stitches but you’re going to have some major bruising going on there. Does it hurt?”

“Stings a little, that’s all.”

“Well that’s _one_ good thing, at least.” Hardy raised an eyebrow at Kane who shrugged and sighed back. It was clear there was some kind of unspoken conversation going on between them that Jared wasn’t privy to.

“What’s going on?” He already felt too far out of the loop, more fucking powerless than he’d ever felt in his life. “Tell me!”

“It’s on me, son,” Kane told him. “My instructions were to keep you safe, not allow you to be hurt.”

The Tahoe sped along eating up the roads. Jared thought about trying to sleep, closed his eyes for a while but his mind was too full with the events of the last few days. His life had been turned upside down, put in danger. It was something that happened in the movies, not in real life – particularly not in his. He’d never been the type to take risks, always taken the sensible options; carefully planned out his life. Now it had all gone to shit in a matter of days.

Hardy was speaking, and it took a moment for him to realise that the man was actually speaking to him.

“It seems pretty clear that the opposition had someone at the clinic, they were on this _way_ too quickly. Were your things locked away Jared; your bag and jacket?” Despite his muscular appearance and the hard look to his face Hardy was softly spoken.

“No, it didn’t seem the kind of place you’d need to do that.”

“What about when you were leaving, did anyone carry your things or…”

Jared suddenly realised what they were getting at, but… “There was Emily.”

“Emily?” Hardy asked him.

“Nurse Peters; she was Deitrich’s nurse but she was really nice, she wouldn’t be part of anything like that.”

“The fact that you just said that about her pretty much says it all, Jared.” Kane told him. ”Bad guys don’t go around wearing black hats. Good legs and a pretty smile tend to be way more effective.”

“But she…” Jared began, still unable to get his head around the idea. His thoughts were interrupted by Hardy’s phone buzzing.

Whoever was on the other end was brief but it seemed to be good news as Hardy’s face lit up with a slow smile. “Ten minutes with a clear run,” he told whoever was on the other end of the line. “Yes, we have, absolutely no doubt.”  His expression darkened. “That confirms what Jared’s told us. I’ll take care of it, I’ll take Hemsworth… Of course, don’t worry.” He hung up and looked over at Kane. “The jet’s already fuelled and waiting and we’re guaranteed a clear run in, our people are on it.”

Kane smiled. “Thank fuck. I’m guessing you’re leaving us?”

Hardy nodded. “Chris is waiting at the plane, we’ll take the car once we’ve dropped you at the airfield. We have a couple of things to deal with so we’ll meet you at the house.”

Kane turned his smile on Jared. “Sit back and take it easy kid. We’re on our way.”

 

_________________________________________

 

They reached the airfield fifteen minutes later and Tom was happy to see Aldis had arranged for the plane to be refuelled and waiting to take Jared Padalecki to the house where he’d be safe. Kane ushered the boy on board before coming back to speak to Tom and Chris.

“Lucy Gregson?” Tom asked quietly.

Chris frowned. “She’s dead, an eighteen-wheeler took out the SUV. We lost Marcus, he was decapitated in the crash.”

“A fucking accident?” Tom couldn’t believe it.

Chris shook his head. “The guys in the truck were heavily armed and opened fire. They didn’t want any survivors. Stevie was badly injured but he’ll be good. He got the number of the truck and our people are on it.”

Tom nodded. “That’s good work. Clearly someone was feeding these guys information.”

“Fuck!” Kane shook his head. “You think this Nurse Peters had something to do with it Tom?”

“It looks that way. We should have realised they’d have someone at the clinic. She helped Jared with his bag. I can’t help thinking she did the same for Lucy.” He shook his head. “This has gone way beyond what we expected, thanks to the CDC. The two of us will take care of things this end before anything else goes to shit.” He clapped Kane on the shoulder. “Take care of the boy. We’ll be back as soon as we can.”

Kane nodded. “You guys take care.”

 

“Everything okay with the boss?” Chris asked Tom as he slipped into the driver’s seat beside him.

“He agrees it’s bit of a fuck up, but nothing that can’t be dealt with. We have loose ends to tie up in Texas. We need to get back to Bergstrom, there’ll be a plane waiting for us there.”

Chris nodded. “What’s our priority?”

“We’re waiting for information on the nurse, Emily Peters, she’s the only one who could have planted those trackers. I doubt that’s her real name, odds are she’s working for the Russians. Adrianne’s on it, she’ll get back to us as soon as she finds something. If I’m right, I don’t want the bitch slipping the net, there’s a lot of blood on her hands.”

“Then the CDC?” Chris asked him.

Tom nodded. “Everything we need will be waiting on the plane.”

_______________________

 

“Emily Peters,” Tom read out the information Adrianne had forwarded to his note pad. “Also known as Diane Moore, is actually Irina Levieva. Born in Kolomenskoye and currently an operative of the SVR, Russia’s external intelligence service. She’s been in the US for five years and at the CDC for three months.”

“Do we know why she’s at the CDC?” Chris asked him. “Clearly it’s not because of Jared.”

“A spy in any government agency would be useful to them, but she was probably there because of this Professor Deitrich. Apparently, he’s been doing some work on cellular enhancement, controversial stuff. It’s about to be shut down.”

“So Peters is either out to steal his work or on a recruitment drive?”

“Tom nodded. “More than likely. We have some of our people living in her apartment block and it seems that today is the lovely Emily’s day off.” He grinned.

 

 

Peters lived in a newly built apartment complex called Oasis Plains, a few hours out from the Walter Wyman Clinic. One of their own, Doug Tailor, was the concierge there.

“She’s on the second floor,” Doug told them. “Corner apartment.

“Is there a balcony, fire escape?” Tom wanted to know.

“Corner apartments don’t have balconies and the fire escape is at the end of her hallway. We have Mitch, the gardener, covering that.”

Chris was impressed. “Good work,” he told him. “What do you know about Peters, is she friendly?”

“Pleasant enough,” Doug told him, “But I wouldn’t call her friendly. I’ve taken the liberty of having the water turned off on this block. Thought it might be an excuse to get you in.”

Tom nodded. “Does she have a peephole or a security camera?” He asked him.

“She has a peephole. There are security cameras in the hallways, but I’ve shut them off.”

Chris gave him an appreciative smile. “Okay Doug, you’re on. Time to ask Miss Peters if you can check her water.”

She opened the door to Doug without hesitation and Tom barrelled in behind him. She was reaching for something as Tom raised the silenced Glock and shot her twice in the head.

“The clean-up crew’s about twenty minutes behind us,” Chris informed Doug. “Lock this door and wait down at your desk. The guy in charge of the clean-up is Adam.”

“Why the fuck would anyone want to commute?” Chris asked Tom as they crawled along in traffic towards the clinic. “Take this one of Emily’s, it’s going to take us about three fucking hours at this rate to get there!”

“People go where the work is,” Tom told him. “They don’t have a whole lot of choice.”

“Guess not,” he shrugged. “It’s not my kinda life, it’d drive me crazy.”

“You’re heading up to Echo Falls soon aren’t you?”

“I’ll be up and down a fair bit while I make sure everything’s sorted, yeah. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Me too,” Tom admitted. “It’s a good place.”

Chris grinned. “Hopefully teeming with beautiful, unattached women.”

Tom frowned. “Weren’t you extolling the virtues of being footloose and fancy free not too long ago?”

Chris shrugged. “I’m getting old. I reckon it’s time for me to start looking. We can’t all be as lucky as you mate.”

Tom grinned. “Luck has nothing to do with it.”

“So you say, mate. _So_ you say.”

 

Chris pulled their NSA ID’s out of the glove box as they finally approached the clinic.

“Fuck ugly place.”

“Probably some artist’s version of a wet dream. I hate these concrete monstrosities.” Tom parked the car in one of the visitor’s bays.

“Who are we talking to first?”

“Donald Elvington. Jeff’s had some dealings with him. He says he’s an asshole.”

Chris grinned. “That sounds encouraging. What about this other one, Deitrich?”

“Mad professor apparently.”

He groaned. “Great.”

There was a collection of rent-a-cops outside the building but they backed off once they flashed their ID’s.

The building was no more attractive on the inside; ultramodern, black and white with a cavernous reception area, that was totally empty apart from the girl at the reception desk.

The dark haired receptionist smiled at them. “Welcome to the Walter Wyman Clinic gentlemen. How can I help you?”

They both showed their identification. “NSA to see Donald Elvington,” Tom told her.

“Do you have an appointment?”

“No.”

“Let me see if he’s free…”

“He’s free, Jennie,” He noted her name tag. “Where do we find him?” Tom asked her.

“Third floor, Jefferson Suite. That’s left through the glass doors when you leave the elevator.”

“Thank you. I’d appreciate it if our presence in the building wasn’t announced – to anyone,” he told her, expression cold as he met her eyes.

She paled a little but gave him a nervous nod of the head. “Of course, sir.”

He smiled. “Thank you.”

As soon as they walked through the glass doors of the Jefferson Suite the secretary at the desk started to pick up the phone. Chris placed a gentle but insistent hand over hers and showed her his ID. “I take it he’s in?”

She nodded. “I should…”

He cut her off. “Good. We _are_ here in an official capacity, Jane, and we will be interviewing other people in the building during the course of our investigation, so it’s vital that you don’t share your knowledge of our presence with anyone else, in or out of the building. Any failure to do so could result in your arrest. Do you understand, Jane?”

She gave him a nervous nod. “I do.”

 

“Who the _hell_ are you?” Elvington got up from behind his desk, a glare on his face, as they walked in. “How did you get in here?”

“Through the door, Mr Elvington.” Tom showed his ID before taking the seat opposite him while Chris stayed by the door.

He frowned. “You work for that bastard Welliver.”

“He’s one of my employers, yes. Now, why don’t you sit down so we can get through this conversation without any unpleasantness?”

“Are you threatening _me_?”

“I may have to do more than that, _if_ you don’t sit down and start paying attention.”

At least Elvington had enough common sense to recognise an implied threat when he heard one. He grudgingly sat down, face flushed red.

“I think I need to get my security people up here,” he snapped and started to reach for his phone.

“You could do that Mr Elvington, if you’d like me to arrest you, handcuff you and march you out of here. That’s entirely up to you.”

Elvington’s hand paused, his face was livid. “What the fuck do you want?”

“All paperwork, files, computer records and anything else you may have on Lucy Gregson and Jared Padalecki, and I mean _everything_. They were never here and you have no recollection of them. Everything is to be expunged, is that clear?”

He shook his head, a patronising smile on his face. “The CDC does not respond to threats. You have no authority here and if you think…”

Tom leaned over and pulled Elvington’s phone across the desk, unable to resist a smile when Elvington shrank back from him. He made the call, putting it on speaker.

“Morgan.” The familiar voice answered.

“Mr President, it’s Tom.

“Not the best timing, give me a minute here.” I have to take this, they heard him say, so I’ll have to ask you to step out for a moment gentlemen. They heard the scraping of chairs, the sound of a door opening and closing.

“Tell me this is important, Tom.”

“I’m afraid it is Mr President, I wouldn’t interrupt otherwise. I’m at the CDC with Donald Elvington.”

Jeff sighed. “What the hell’s he done now?”

“We’re on speaker phone,” Tom explained. “I’m here to expunge certain files you’re aware of from CDC records. Mr Elvington insists that the NSA doesn’t have the authority to do that.”

“Morgan groaned and Tom knew he’d get some grief for this whole NSA business. “You there Elvington?”

“I am, Mr President. This is all Welliver’s doing, these men can’t just come in here…”

“Mr Hardy is there on _my_ authority, is that clear Elvington? You will give him your full and complete cooperation. Do you understand?”

Elvington paled. “Yes, Mr President.”

“Be aware,” Morgan continued, “That this is a matter of national security. Any, and I repeat, _any_ breach of that security will result in arrest and possible imprisonment. Are we clear?”

“Absolutely sir.”

“Good man. Tom?”

“Still here.”

“Call me later with an update.”

“Will do, thankyou sir” He hung up the phone.

“I _will_ need to involve my secretary,” Elvington told him, all trace of bluster gone.

Tom nodded. “I’m sure Jane will cooperate.”

“I don’t have access to all the files on Gregson and Padalecki, one of my colleagues…”

“Professor Deitrich?”

He nodded. “He was heading up the examinations. I know he put together a great deal of information.”

“Where would we find Professor Deitrich?”

“His office, labs and examination rooms are on the second floor, the Roosevelt Suite.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Chris told Tom. “Meet you back at the car.”

“We may have a problem with Deitrich,” Chris told him as he joined Tom back in the car, having dumped the files in the trunk with the others.

“A problem?”

“I’ve got the files and I watched his secretary expunge the computer records, but he’s a talker and he’s obsessed with Padalecki. I could barely shut the bastard up. Deitrich’s sporting a black eye, by the way: courtesy of Padalecki.

Tom laughed. “I like the boy already. We may have to deal with Deitrich though.”

“I don’t see we have a whole lot of choices, to be honest.” Chris shook his head. “Want me to phone the boss?”

Tom nodded. “Make the call and then let’s find a diner or something. I need coffee and grease.”

Chris’s phone rang as Tom was settling the bill with their waitress at the counter. He went outside to take it.

 

“What are we doing?” Tom asked as he joined him at the car.

Chris gave him a mile-wide grin. “Time to go _home_ mate.”

“What? Why?”

“Deitrich left work early apparently, after some kind of argument with Elvington. He pulled his car out, straight into on-coming traffic. He was killed instantly, saved us the job.”

Tom grinned, “Home?”

Chris gave a double knock on the roof of the car. “Home it is, mate.

 

__________________________________________

 

Jared woke with a start, sitting up, eyes wide and heart trying to beat right out of his chest. Bright daylight was streaming into the room, which made no sense. Maybe he’d forgotten to close the blinds… No, this wasn’t his room, wasn’t his apartment. Nothing was familiar- he didn’t _know_ this place. He couldn’t remember going home with anyone, going out, nothing! He fought down a wave of panic and took some long, deep breaths – _in_ and out, _in_ and out, nice and slow. The tightness inside his chest slowly eased and he allowed himself to relax, looking around.

He remembered now, at least vaguely; he’d come here last night, or at least the early hours of this morning. The man Chris Kane had brought him here. What he thought he’d dreamt; the nightmare about being a fucking candidate, that shit was _real_. Kane had brought him here when he’d deemed Texas to be too dangerous. He gingerly touched his cheek. It stung like a bitch and there was dried blood on his fingers, stains on the pillow cases. Last night had been something out of an old Jason Bourne movie made terrifyingly real. Kane and the other guy – what was his name – Hardy, barely seemed flapped, but he had been. He still was.

He had a vague recollection of coming into this room, dumping his bag on the floor where it still sat and stripping off his clothes before climbing into bed. That was pretty much it. He couldn’t remember where Kane said they were, couldn’t remember actually getting here, just falling into bed. His clothes were still on the chair where he remembered leaving them except they now seemed to be washed, pressed and neatly folded.

He took the time to look around the room he was in. It was one hell of a room. Jared was a big guy and for comfort he needed a big bed. He’d splurged on a California King when he moved into his new apartment and revelled in the luxury of it, loving that he could finally stretch out his six feet, six inch frame. The bed he was in dwarfed his own. It had to be custom made and it was ridiculously comfortable. It faced out onto a wall of huge windows, some of which were open onto a terrace. He was pretty sure he could see mountains in the distance. The room itself was huge, built in stone with massive wooden roof beams. It even had its own fireplace. It had to be a fancy hotel.

He slid out of bed, still in the boxers he’d been wearing the day before. He searched through his bag for a clean pair and slipped them on. There were two doors in the room. One of them was partly open to reveal what looked to be a large bathroom. He needed a shower, hopefully it would chase away some of the lingering tiredness he felt and he wanted to take a look at his cheek.

The bathroom was huge, larger than his bedroom at home and the shower way more powerful than the one in his apartment. He used one of the assortment of shower gels and then wrapped himself in a luxuriously thick towel. A toothbrush and razor, still in their packaging, had been left beside the sink and he made use of the toothbrush whilst contemplating the impressive looking bruises on his cheek, which convinced him not to shave. Once he’d brushed his hair through and dressed he felt a little more presentable and pretty much at a loss.

It occurred to him that he had absolutely no idea what time it was. His dad could do this neat trick of looking at the sun and being able to estimate the time to within the nearest fifteen minutes. He was pretty sure there was some kind of trickery involved in him doing that, but he’d never worked out what it was, no one in the family had. He realised he could get the time from his phone, it had been in the pocket of his jeans but obviously wasn’t anymore. He panicked for a minute before spotting it on the bedside table. Not that that helped, it was dead anyway. He grabbed his bag and searched through it for his charger, devastated when he realised he’d left it still plugged in beside his bed at the clinic. He should have checked his room instead of leaving it to the nurse but he’d been so eager to get out of there. Fuck!

He had no idea what to do, he couldn’t really just sit where he was and wait for someone to come. He wasn’t actually sure this was a hotel, it could be someone’s home. He looked over at the windowed wall and decided to take a walk out onto the terrace and take a look around, see if he could see anyone. It was a wide stone terrace that seemed to sweep around the entire length of a stunning building which looked to be constructed from huge wooden beams, stone and glass. There was another terrace on the floor below that fanned out into a vast patio, complete with a huge swimming pool and a hot tub. Beyond that there was nothing but grass, forest, mountains, and endless sky. It was a breath-taking view, just miles and miles of open countryside with no other building, or even a road, in sight.

“Jared. Hey, I was just coming up to see if you’d surfaced.”

“Kane.” He smiled at the man making his way up the stone stairs from below, t-shirt and jeans replacing the dark suit he’d worn yesterday. “Where the hell _am_ I, man?”

Kane grinned. “You don’t remember?”

“I remember getting on that fancy plane, you telling me it was safe and that’s just about it other than a vague memory of coming into this room, stripping, and getting into bed.”

Kane joined him on the terrace, smile dimming a little. “That’s just stress, it makes your mind do that sometimes, don’t sweat it. As for where you are, this is Montana, that’s Yellowstone out there.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “We got in at about five this morning and it’s a little after one now. To be honest I thought you’d still be crashed out.”

“I think a dream woke me up.”

“Dream?”

“Nightmare, maybe.” He shrugged and then tugged at his over shirt. “Someone washed my clothes.”

“That would be Sam, she’s pretty good like that. She didn’t know if you had any clean stuff and wouldn’t go in your bag, so she laundered those for you.”

“So,” he frowned, “This isn’t a hotel?”

“No, this house belongs to Jensen, he’s kinda like family. You’ll get to meet him later.” He pointed at Jared’s cheek. “That looks kinda sore, man. How’s it feeling?”

He touched his face self-consciously. “I think it bled a little last night, I noticed some stains on the pillowcases, sorry. I took a look at it in the mirror but I couldn’t see any chips or anything. It doesn’t feel like there’s anything in there, it’s just…”

“Painful?”

Jared grinned back at him. “A little.”

“Won’t hurt to let Sam take a look at it, put some anti-septic on it at least. Jason’s usually the go to guy for pretty much anything that ails you but he’s up at the reservation.”

Jared laid his forearms on the wall of the terrace and looked out at the land without really seeing, rather than look at Kane. “This Jensen, does he know about me? I mean… I get why you brought me here and all, but I don’t want to bring all this – all this shit – down on anyone else. The people after me and the guns and –and…” It all just flooded back in, filling his head and pushing up a rising sense of panic that he couldn’t control.

He felt Kane squeeze his shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay, you’re safe here. It’s _over_. You’ve nothing to worry about, I promise.”

“How do you get used to that sort of thing?” Jared asked him, meeting his eyes. “You’re what, Special Forces or something?”

“Or something,” he said dismissively. “I guess I’ve been a fighter all my life – one way or another. I suppose I have a knack for protecting others. It’s pretty easy to forget that it’s different for other people when to you it’s – I don’t know – just another day at the office or whatever. You get used to being on the edge, waiting for… I don’t know; somethin’.”

Jared shook his head. “I don’t think I could ever get used to that.”

Nothing wrong with that, man, nothing at all.” He grinned and gave Jared a slap on the back. “Let’s forget all this maudlin crap. You hungry? I’m thinking it’s high time we rustled you up some breakfast.”

“Kinda late for breakfast,” Jared grinned.

“What’s that the fancy types call it then – brunch?”

They made their way down to the level below, through more floor to ceiling windows and into an open plan area with a tasteful collection of soft looking leather and fabric couches, overstuffed chairs and low tables that looked sturdy enough to dance on. The same wood had been used for the long dining table and chairs, and in the open plan kitchen near the back of the enormous room, which had stools around the outside to let you sit up at the counter.

A woman was working in the center, busily shaping bread dough into neat rolls. She was maybe in her late forties, early fifties at a guess, with a handsome face and long dark hair tied back. An easy smile lit up her dark eyes when she saw them.

“Well good afternoon,” she turned the power of that smile on him. “You must be Jared. I hope you don’t mind that I snuck in and took your clothes and washed them.”

“No ma’am, thank you,” Jared told her. “I’m truly grateful.”

“A handsome face _and_ lovely manners.” She beamed. “You call me Sam, sweetie, everyone else does.” She looked over at Kane. “I’m gonna be another ten, fifteen minutes with the bread. You’re welcome to wait or fix something yourself.”

“I’ll make it,” Kane told her, sliding neatly off his stool and rubbing his hands together. “What you hungering for, Jared?”

“To be honest it feels like it should be breakfast, I usually just have a bowl of oatmeal or…”

“Not in _this_ house you don’t!”

Kane chuckled at the woman, Sam’s comment. “That’s tantamount to blasphemy, man. Leave it to me, okay? I guarantee you’ll thank me.”

“To be fair, he is the _only_ one, of the chuckleheads who live here, that I allow to cook in my kitchen.”

_________________________

 

Jared cleaned off his plate with the last of a warm, white, fluffy bread roll and sat back on his stool with a sigh. “That was…” He gave Kane a nod of approval. “You can really cook, man.”

Kane grinned, clearly pleased. “It’s kind of a hobby. It relaxes me.”

“And you loading the dishwasher and wiping down the counter tops is going to relax me,” Sam told him, taking out her last tray of bread.

“Hey, let me do that,” Jared offered. He always helped his momma clean up after a meal. “It’s the very least I can…”

“Absolutely not!” Sam told him. “Guests do _not_ clean up. Besides, it seems to me that your cheek needs looking at, sooner rather than later. What the hell happened there?”

Jared was suddenly outside that fancy hotel again, hearing the pops of what he’d thought were fireworks. “S-someone tried to shoot me.”

“Oh baby,” she sighed, reaching over the counter to stroke a hand through his hair. “What the hell have we let this world come to?”

“ _Sam_.” There was a note of warning in Kane’s voice that surprised Jared, Sam however seemed unaffected.

“Oh I know, I know. I shouldn’t go on and I know it’s not what Jared needs to hear right now.” She squeezed Jared’s hand. “I’m just venting, honey, ignore me.” She smiled at him. “Come on, sweetie, I’ve got a well-stocked first-aid kit in my suite so we can get that properly cleaned up.”

“Just double check it for stone chips or dust,” Kane told her. “I couldn’t see any, but…”

“I’ll take care of it.”

There _were_ stone fragments in his cheek. Two of them that Sam spotted using one of those large magnifying lights. She teased them out so delicately with a set of tweezers that Jared barely felt it and it hardly bled at all. She dabbed the wounds with anti-septic and then took out a pottery jar of cream with a minty, herbal scent. “Jason makes this, it’s the best thing ever for taking the bruising and the sting out of things,” she told him as she smeared some over his bruise. To his surprise it took the ache right out in just a couple of minutes. Once that was done she showed him up the internal staircase to his room, insisted he give her the rest of the clothes from his duffel to wash and then persuaded him to take a nap.

To be honest, he didn’t take much in the way of persuading. He felt like he hadn’t got all that much sleep last night and the stress of the last few days was catching up with him, fast. He knew a couple of extra hours sleep would do him good. Hopefully, he’d be able to meet this Jensen guy then and thank him, find out what was happening and see about getting home, back to his regular life.

 

________________________

 

It was dark out when Jared woke up. Sam had clearly been busy. His clean laundry was neatly folded and hung over the back of the chair. A quilt had been draped over him and someone had turned on the bedside light and left him a glass of water. He was usually a light sleeper, waking at the slightest noise, but not here apparently and not now. He stared at his still dead phone. He should have asked Kane if he had a charger but it had slipped his mind.

The house was silent but it was a big damn house, people might still be up. The place was so big that they could probably be having a party and he wouldn’t hear it.

He took a drink of water and pondered what to do. Common sense was telling him to roll over and go back to sleep. He could get up early in the morning, see if there was news on this whole fucking candidate shit. More than anything he just wanted to go home.

A little voice in the back of his head kept saying ‘ _What if it’s you?_ ’ but the voice was talking bullshit and he wasn’t going to listen. He’d been made welcome here, been taken care of, but he had responsibilities – a job. A job that he wasn’t going to get back to on time, he realised and he had no damn way to contact them. Fuck! He really needed a charger.

It got him out of bed and into the jeans and t-shirt he’d taken off earlier. He didn’t bother slipping his sneakers on. The windows out onto the terrace were still open and he made his way outside. There were no lights to be seen on this level so he made his way down to the bottom floor.

The pool lights were on, and he could see that someone had gotten out fairly recently from the trail of water and wet footprints that led through the open doorway and into the main room. All the lamps were lit but he couldn’t see anyone and the footprints had vanished, courtesy of the large rugs that covered areas of the floor. He stood there in the middle of the room, uncertain what to do.

“Did I wake you?”

The quiet, disembodied voice scared the crap out of him and he spun around quickly to see a man standing near the staircase pulling a t-shirt on over what looked to be incredibly well muscled shoulders and well defined abs.

“Hi,” he said, quickly, realising how lame that must have sounded. “No”, he told him. I erm… I wanted to know what time it was. My phone’s dead and I left my charger – somewhere.”

“You must be Jared,” he told him, stepping out from the shadows. The guy gave him a slow once-over, from head to foot. It was an odd feeling, being looked at like that. It was kind of blatant and it forced an embarrassed blush of heat into his cheeks. Jared wasn’t gay but he’d been looked over by hot guys before and this guy was – even by straight standards – incredibly hot. It occurred to him that he _had_ just watched the guy getting dressed so maybe he’d been giving out a few mixed signals of his own.

“Y-yeah,” he stammered out. “That would be me.”

“Jensen Ackles,” he introduced himself, offering his hand, which Jared shook. “Good to meet you.”

This then was the man who owned this house and was allowing him to stay. “It’s almost twelve thirty,” Ackles told him. “I may be able to help you out with a charger. What kind of phone do you have?”

“An iPhone XS1.”

“Yep, I think my spare’s in the bottom drawer of my desk, let me take a look for you.” He walked over to one of the doors that led off from the main room, switching on the light to reveal a large, well equipped office.

After a couple of minutes Ackles came out, switching off the light as he held up the charger for Jared to see. “Thought so! Problem solved,” he told Jared with an easy, boyish smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes.

“Thank you,” Jared took it from him. “For this, for letting Kane bring me here…”

“Christian is family. I’m just sorry I couldn’t have stepped in earlier and done more to help.”

“Is there any news?” Jared wondered. He didn’t know how much Kane might have told the man. “Do you know if…”

“Tomorrow,” he told him. “In the meantime, please treat my house as your own. Take a swim, use the hot-tub, the sauna, the gym, library; whatever you wish.”

“Thanks,” Jared gave him a smile. “No trunks or I might have taken you up on that swim. All I seem to have done since I came here is sleep.”

Ackles looked at him critically, head tilted on one side. “I might be able to help with that too, give me a minute.” He walked off, towards what Jared presumed must be the front of the house, before he could stop him.

Jared stood there uncertainly, unsure what to do, the charger gripped in his hand as he waited for Ackles’ return. There was something odd about this, something slightly off about Ackles. The man was mesmerising, why exactly he wasn’t sure. His presence seemed to fill the room. There was a scent too, almost a perfume, which lingered even though he’d left the room. It was masculine, warm and spicy, an unusual smell that he didn’t recognise. It had to come from Ackles – some kind of cologne maybe. It was probably super expensive. Ackles had to be rolling in money to afford a place like this. The house must be worth millions.

“I raided the clean laundry in the laundry room, I think these should fit.” The voice startled him so much that he almost dropped the charger. “They belong to Jason, he’s about your size.”

Ackles held out a pair of board shorts to him. He hadn’t even heard the man come back into the room yet he was suddenly right next to him.

“I… Thanks.” He took the shorts from him, relieved that his hand wasn’t actually shaking.

Ackles smiled, brilliant green eyes locked on his. “No problem. Enjoy your swim. I’ll probably see you at breakfast. Goodnight.”

“Night.” He watched Ackles walk away, bare feet padding noiselessly across the floor and up a nearby staircase. It took a moment for him to realise he was just standing there watching the man. What the fuck was he doing? He sighed, realising he’d just let all this shit get to him, freak him out. Ackles was just a normal, super rich, incredible looking guy… A guy who moved silently because his fucking feet were bare! Hopefully he’d be back home tomorrow and this whole weird nightmare would be finally over.

He looked at the shorts he was holding. A few laps of the pool would, hopefully, tire him out and he’d sleep for the rest of the night, phone work in the morning to let them know he wouldn’t be in. He’d told them he had a medical appointment, still had the letter in his bag. He could just tell them the whole thing took longer than he anticipated. It’s not like he could tell them the truth anyway.

A sudden shiver down his spine had him glancing up to the galleried landing above, where Ackles had disappeared.  There was no one up there, why the fuck would there be? He needed to get a grip. He moved to the shadows beneath the staircase and stripped off his clothes. The board shorts were a pretty good fit so he got his gear together and went outside, dumping his clothes and the charger on one of the lounge chairs arrayed around the pool.

It was huge and inviting, the sparkling water lit from below by concealed lighting. He dove in, finding the water was warmer than he’d expected. He’d always loved to swim and he cut through the water with confident strokes, enjoying the exercise and the feeling of freedom it gave him.

 

Two floors above Jensen Ackles watched from the shadows as Jared Padalecki scythed confidently through the water, his eyes locked on the tall, muscular body. He couldn’t look away, even when he sensed he was no longer alone.

“Jensen.” There was a hint of warning, caution perhaps, in Tom Hardy’s soft, low voice. “Are you being a stalker or do you think the boy might drown?”

He didn’t answer but, that didn’t stop his lawyer and counsellor from stepping closer. The sideward glance Jensen gave him would be enough of a note of warning to send most away, but Tom was nothing if not fearless.

“The photographs didn’t do him justice, he’s beautiful.”

Jensen nodded. “Do I sense a but?”

“Not at all, just a few words of advice if you want to listen.”

Jensen smiled, listen or not Tom would get his point across. “When have I not?”

“Give me an hour or two and I could probably write a list of the most recent occasions.” He could hear the smile in his friend’s voice. “I know how long you’ve waited, how important this and everything you’ve worked towards are. These are momentous times for all of us, Jensen. I’d just caution you to focus your mind, don’t let instinct take over. If you do you’ll drive a wedge between yourself and that boy down there. He’s been through a great deal and things are going to be hard enough for him…”

“I know.” And he did, he understood but he’d waited for such a long time; dreamt of this for so many long years and now here it was; his time – their time. No longer the stuff of hope and dreams.

His blood had burned today in a fever of anticipation. It had seemed an endless day, filled with meetings that had demanded, not just his participation, but his absolute attention. Every minute, every moment, had taken every ounce of strength he had. He’d arrived home desperate to see Jared but he’d managed – somehow – to hold himself back. It hadn’t been easy and eventually he’d taken to the pool to cool his body and calm his soul.

Every hair on his body, from outside to in, had stood quivering with tension as Jared had followed him in from the pool, warm skin like sunshine. He had intended to stay in the shadows and look his fill but he’d found himself moving forward, compelled to speak although the words didn’t matter. He couldn’t resist the urge to feast his eyes on every tall, muscular inch of him.

Tom was right though, he couldn’t let his instincts rule him. Jared was too important.

“You give wise council, my friend,” he told him. “Always.”

__________________________

Jared woke from a dream that he knew had been intense but had faded the moment he opened his eyes. There were just faint images left but he knew Jensen Ackles had featured prominently; he just couldn’t bring to mind any details.

He sighed, stretching out his limbs in the huge bed before rolling onto his side and checking his phone – now fully charged. It was six thirty. Texas was an hour ahead so it wasn’t too early to phone work, let them know he wouldn’t be in. He left a message on the sick line, knowing they wouldn’t be too happy about it but, there wasn’t anything he could do about that and to be fair this was the first time he’d had off since he’d started there.

He had a couple of messages from the guys, asking if he was up for a night out and another from his momma; hoping he’d got some rest over the weekend. He’d get in touch once he got home. Right now he needed a shower and hopefully there would be some breakfast ready once he went down stairs.

He’d miss the luxury of the massive shower once he got home. The one in his apartment was okay but, like most showers, it just wasn’t built for a broad, six-foot six man, and it certainly didn’t have the same water pressure. He took his time beneath the spray, making the most of it, washing his hair. He should really have showered last night after his swim but he’d pushed himself, doing far more laps than he usually would in an effort to wear himself out. It had worked. He’d slept like a log, apart from that damn dream.

Jensen Ackles face came, unbidden, into his mind. He had never seen such intense green eyes and the guy had lashes that most of his girl friends would die for. They should have looked out of place on a man but they didn’t – not on Ackles. There was nothing feminine about the man. He was tall, not as tall as Jared but there weren’t many who were. He was packed with muscle too, Jared had noticed when he’d put on his t-shirt. The fabric had stretched over powerful arms and shoulders. He remembered the well-defined abs. He couldn’t help wonder what exactly it was he did for a living, nothing physical, surely? If he could afford a place like this he had to be some kind of businessman. Maybe the man just liked to work out, keep fit? He’d been swimming last night. There had to be real power and strength in those shoulders…

He was stroking his cock, he realised suddenly. Thinking about another guy while he got off under the shower. The realisation should have stopped him, should have hit him like ice-water but he didn’t stop – couldn’t. He tried to think about one of his ex’s, Kendra. She’d had a fabulous body, great muscle tone and a perfect ass, breasts he’d loved to play with. He couldn’t picture her face. All he could see was Ackles; his eyes, that body, even the slightly bowlegged walk as he’d made his way up the staircase last night. His hand tightened on his cock, strokes speeding up. He came so hard it left him dizzy, leaning his frame against the wet tiles.

What the fuck was _wrong_ with him? He wasn’t gay! He didn’t have a problem with anyone who was – each to his own – but this! Ackles was undoubtedly good looking but he’d met plenty of good looking men before. He’d never jerked off in the shower thinking about them or picturing them in his mind.

It had to be stress. The shooting, the clinic, Elvington, Deitrich, all that shit about the candidates. Deitrich had asked him some pretty intense questions and some of the tests he’d put him through had been fucking humiliating. That’s all it could be, just weird shit. He just wanted to forget it, go home. He wasn’t a candidate for _any_ damn thing!

He rinsed off quickly, getting out and drying off. He knew he really needed a shave, his beard came in fast, but it could wait until he was home. He towelled off his hair though, putting the brush through it and using the wall dryer in the bathroom. It needed cutting badly. He’d had a few pointed comments at work about it that he knew he couldn’t ignore forever. He’d pop in to see Gustave sometime this week; get him to lop a couple of inches off.

By the time he’d dressed in clean clothes he felt more like himself, ready to go downstairs and see about going home. He knew he’d have to ask about this candidate crap, see if they’d heard anything. Ignoring it wasn’t going to make it go away. If it was him he was pretty sure he’d have heard by now anyway. Kane was a government man, so he was certain Welliver would have notified him. There was no way he was going to go along with it. He’d run the first fucking chance he got.

He made his way down the internal staircase, the smell of fresh bread and bacon making his mouth water. He hesitated when he heard voices. Kane and Sam’s he recognised but not the others. For a moment he wondered if it was government guys, here for him. This was chatter though; men and women laughing and joking with each other. He slowed his steps anyway, listening for any hint that there might be someone here for him.

“Adrianne! Are you bringing those pancakes over _sometime_ today?”

Jared recognised that voice as Kane’s.

“If you want them any quicker _Christian_ then I suggest you get off that lazy ass and fetch them yourself,” a woman’s voice replied.

“You _love_ my lazy ass.”

“If that arse of yours gets anywhere near my woman you and I may have to have a serious conversation, Kane.” This voice had a British accent, Hardy’s he realised.

“Your _woman_?” The girl again.

“My beloved,” the Brit answered. “My darling.”

“For fuck sake, Tom, some of us are trying to have breakfast here, man!”

“Christian Kane! You watch your damn tongue!”

“Sorry Sam.”

“Breakfast tends to get a little rowdy when we’re altogether.” The voice from behind him startled Jared and he turned to find Jensen Ackles, a couple of steps behind him, on the staircase. He hadn’t even heard him.

“I erm…” He felt the heat rise in his cheeks as thoughts of the shower flashed into his head.

“They’re harmless.” Ackles told him, smiling, “Just loud. Shall we go down and get some breakfast? I don’t know about you but I’m starving.”

He was blocking the damn staircase, Jared realised. Standing there, listening like some scared kid.

“I-I could definitely eat,” he told him honestly before making his way down the rest of the stairs, Ackles at his back.

“Morning, Jared.” Sam’s smiling greeting leaving any chance of him entering the room without drawing attention impossible. Every pair of eyes in the room fixed on him. It wasn’t something he was comfortable with. He’d never been the type who appreciated being the center of attention and he knew his cheeks were flaming – yet again.

“Jensen, why don’t you and Jared take a seat and we can get started?” Sam invited.

“Will do.” Ackles squeezed his shoulder. “Come on Jared, I’ll make the introductions.

He could still feel the tingle of the man’s touch on his shoulder as he followed Ackles towards the table, trying to pull himself together as people sat down or brought out food. Ackles took the seat at the head of the table, once he’d pulled out a seat, clearly meant for Jared on his left.

A tall man with long blonde hair, blue eyes and a neatly trimmed beard sat opposite him, greeting him with a broad smile and an outstretched hand. “Chris Hemsworth,” he introduced himself, his broad accent identifying him as Australian. “I don’t know if you remember me from the other night, but we weren’t really introduced. Good to meet you mate. Welcome to Montana.”

He shook the offered hand, smiling back at the man. “I’m grateful for being allowed to stay.”

“Not a problem,” Ackles told him.

“It’s always one big family here.” A beautiful leggy blonde carrying a plate piled high with fluffy looking pancakes took a seat next to Hardy, placing the plate in front of him. “I’m Adrianne.”

“Kane you already know,” Ackles pointed out. “This is Jason.”

The man who took the seat beside Jared was almost as tall as he was but considerably more muscular. He wore jeans and a plain t-shirt but that was pretty much where anything plain about him ended. His moustache and beard were trimmed neatly but his hair was something else entirely. It was long and mostly black with a mixture of new braids and dreads, tied back to hang halfway down his back. The shorter hair that framed his face was thickly curled against coffee coloured skin. An old, silvery scar - that must have come from a deep cut - slashed through his left eyebrow and forehead, disappearing into his hairline. Despite the scar, he was a good looking man with tattoos that covered his arms and were visible on his neck. The tatts looked Native American and Jared suspected the man might be, too.

This Jason’s dark, brown eyes seemed to almost peer right inside him until he grinned. “Good to meet you, man.” He slapped Jared on the shoulder. “Now let’s eat,” he told him, voice dark and rich.

He recognised Aldis sitting further down the table and as they started eating more people joined them, each apologising to Sam as they did so. There was a woman with short, dark hair named Kim, who reached over and offered Jared her hand. “Kim Rhodes,” she told him. “Good to meet you Jared.”

 There was a thin, wiry, blonde guy, he’d met briefly who introduced himself as Chad.

“Why’s Sam all dressed up?” Ackles quietly asked the table.

“She’s seeing Jim later. _Bridge_ club,” the guy Chad told him with a leer.

Ackles frowned. “Again?”

“Sam certainly seems to have embraced the game,” Hardy comented with a knowing smile.

Ackles’ eyes widened. “Is this erm… Is it something I should know about?”

The girl Adrianne laughed. “They’ve been tiptoeing around this for just about ever. How can you not have noticed?”

Ackles rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, an embarrassed gesture that Jared hadn’t expected. “I… There’s something going on between Sam and Jim?” He asked, quietly, clearly surprised.

“Captain Oblivious strikes again,” Kane told them and the entire table laughed.

Sam joined them a little later, bringing more food with her. It was as good if not better than what he’d eaten yesterday and everyone waded in with gusto, Jared included – his feeling of awkwardness having vanished pretty quickly. Everyone was chatty, including him, in conversation despite the fact that it was clear they all knew each other a really well.

“How long have you all lived here?” Jared asked, as he forked a couple more rashers of bacon onto his plate.

Jason was the one to answer as he added two more pancakes to Jared’s plate. “In this house, just over five years. We’ve had a couple of houses in Montana, but this one… This one feels like home, for now at least.”

“It’s pretty amazing,” Jared told him. “Kind of out of the way, I guess.”

“We prefer it that way, no one bothers us and we don’t bother them. The reservation is our nearest neighbour, thirty miles north of here, and there’s a town around sixty, seventy miles to the southwest,” Jason explained. “You’re from Texas, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, San Antonio. Do you know it?”

He nodded. “Been there once or twice, last time was when we set up a branch down there, a couple of years ago, maybe.” He frowned. “Tom,” he asked. “When were we in Texas? Was it two years ago?”

“Nearer to three.” He smiled, “Interesting times.”

“The Texans didn’t like us too much, so I went to hold Tom’s hand.” Jason laughed.

“Oh yeah,” Kane raised an eyebrow. “Cuz poor defenceless Tom here _needs_ looking after.”

“What is it that you do?” Jared wanted to know.

“We invest, primarily,” Tom told him. “We’re interested in green companies and technology. We also own an energy company; AA Renewables. Our move to Texas wasn’t particularly welcomed.”

“Holy shit.” Jared knew there was a lot of money involved somewhere, you didn’t have a house like this otherwise. “I… Sorry, Sam but I remember that.” There had been a hell of a lot of protests across the state, some of them violent. It had been all over the news for a time. Initially there was a lot of scorn aimed at the company but that had quickly turned to resentment and talk of job losses in the oil industry if AA ever got established.

“The science for cleaner, greener fuels has always been there.” Ackles spoke up. ”We haven’t needed to rely on oil for a long time, but it’s brought wealth and power to successive governments, companies and individuals for years and they’ve never wanted to release their grasp on it. New developments have been supressed; global warming has been mocked at worse and paid lip service to at best. Our aim has always been to turn that around.”

“From what I’ve read you seem to be succeeding with that.” he smiled.

“We’re making inroads,” Tom told him. “But there’s a lot still to be done.”

Ackles nodded in agreement. “There are things we could and should have done sooner rather than later. You presume that at some point common sense will prevail but sadly that doesn’t always seem to be the case. We’ve made substantial inroads though. We finally have plants in China and more recently in Russia.” He sighed. “It’s never easy.”

“I admit I was pretty sceptical when I moved into my apartment building and found out that the area got its power from AA but the bills won me over. When I hear what friends are paying my bills are a fraction of theirs.”

Ackles laughed. “It’s good to know that we’re winning people over.”

“So what do you do, Jared?” Adrianne asked him.

“I’m an accountant. I work for a local company in San Antone.”

“Do you like it?”

“It’s a job, for the time being. It pays the bills. Eventually I’d like to set up on my own, move away from corporate clients and their endless dance with the IRS, looking for loopholes. I’d rather help people like my dad, who are trying to run their own businesses and make an honest living.” He blushed. “Not that I’m saying that all big companies are crooks or anything, I just…”

“We get it, Jared,” Tom smiled at him. “You haven’t offended anyone, far from it.”

They went on to other conversations as they ate. Eventually he had to push his plate away and declare himself stuffed.

“That was great food Sam, thank you. I thought my momma’s pancakes were good but…” He smiled. “I won’t be telling her yours were better.”

“That was one great compliment, thank you darlin’.” She beamed.

This time he got to do his share of the cleaning up, brushing aside Sam’s protests about guests helping out. He enjoyed helping her and if he was honest he was grateful for the delay in putting off the eventual conversation he needed to have with either Kane or Ackles.

“Do you know where Kane is?” He asked Sam as he finished stacking the dishwasher for her.

“He’s out with Jason and Chris, honey. One of the townsfolk spotted a bunch of bear traps apparently and the they’ve gone to get rid of the damn things. Last thing we need around here, damn idiots looking for trophies.”

“They can do that in Yellowstone?”

“Not here, the whole area’s protected but occasionally we get some yahoos who ignore the rules and bring that kind of horror to our doorstep.”

“Will they be safe?” The idea of walking around where there might be traps hidden scared the hell out of him.

“Don’t you worry, honey,” She told him. “They know what they’re doing.”

“It’s barbaric. I knew a couple of kids in high school who were into that kind of thing, used to crow about what they’d killed with their famillies and their buddies on the weekend. There was no need for it, no reason, y’know?”

“People can be all kinds of stupid, when they’ve a mind.” She agreed, mouth set in a grim line.  “Things they do to animals, things they do to each other… It makes no damn sense to me.”

“Nor me.” He shook his head. “Do you know where Jensen is?” He asked, not wanting and yet eager to put off the inevitable.

“He’s in his office, sweetie,” she flapped a hand towards the door. “Just give him a knock.”

“Thanks, Sam.” He went over to the door, hesitating for just a moment before he knocked.

________________________________

 

Jensen tried to focus on the reports Tom had sent him. Things seemed to be progressing remarkably well, far better than he’d expected – if he was honest. He was losing concentration though, losing motivation. He had to speak to Jared. Kane had offered but they both knew it had to be him.

He’d enjoyed the family breakfast this morning. It had been obvious that Jared had been nervous about meeting everyone, awkward at first, but after his initial trepidation he’d lost his reticence and joined in with the usual banter. It had given Jensen his first glimpse of the real Jared. He was intelligent, witty and opinionated, with an easy smile and an infectious laugh. He more than liked what he’d seen and heard. He wasn’t a fool though, he knew all that could be eroded in seconds, most probably would be. Jensen had the conversation they needed to have mapped out in his head. He’d gone over what he wanted to say, tried to anticipate Jared’s reactions. He knew he wasn’t the best communicator, he never had been. He was a listener. He preferred to ponder on what was said, work things through in his mind. The family knew it, indulged him and mocked him on occasion. They also knew when to back off and leave him to his own devices

Maybe he _should_ let Kane be the one to speak to Jared, at least initially. Kane had a way about him, an ease with people that Jensen envied.

No. Tempting as that was it was still wrong, unfair, the coward’s way out and he was no…

The knock on the door startled him. There was no doubt about who it was. He pulled in a deep, calming breath.  “Come on in.”

Jared entered and Jensen could see he was already apprehensive. He watched his eyes take in the office before they settled on him with a small, uncertain smile.

 “Jared.” He returned the smile. “Take a seat. I was actually about to come and find you.” Probably; after another hour or two of procrastination. “What is it I can do for you?”

Jared sank his large frame into the chair opposite him and Jensen immediately regretted not suggesting that they take this over to the sofas near the window, where they’d at least be a little more comfortable and relaxed.

Jared moved the hair away from his eyes, nervously tucking the length behind his ear. “I-I came to ask you if there was any news on the candidate. Kane said you’d know.”

No pre-amble then. “It’s worrying you?”

He nodded. “I need to know. I have a job, a home, family that I want to get back to. I mean, you guys have been great, the hospitality you’ve shown me… I just…”

It had been unfair, Jensen realised, keeping him waiting like this – wondering about his future. Meeting him though, having him here had felt so good, but it had been selfish. “I understand. It must all have been a bit of a nightmare for you?”

Jared nodded “I think it’s gonna feature in my nightmares for some time to come.”

Tom had given him the CDC’s files. It hadn’t made pleasant reading. The reality must have been nothing short of terrifying.

“So, do you know what’s going on?” Jared prompted him.

Jensen sighed, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck, a habitual gesture he found hard to break

“It’s me, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” Jensen met Jared’s eyes. “It is.” There was no easy way to say it.

Devastation filled Jared’s expression. He slumped in the chair, colour draining from his face and his breath catching. More than catching, Jensen realised. He was fighting for breath. He raced around the desk, dropping to his knees in front of Jared and allowing all the comfort he could muster to pour out of him.

 “Breathe, just breathe, Jared, come on.” He took his hand, feeling the hammering pulse beneath his fingers, hoping his touch would offer comfort. After a terrifying moment Jared began to draw in ragged breaths. “That’s it,” he encouraged him. “You’re doing it, in and out, nice and slow, n _i_ ce and slow. That’s better.”

Jared rubbed the heel of his hand over his chest for a moment, eyes closed. When he opened them again his gaze focused on Jensen’s fingers still wrapped around his wrist.

“Better?” He asked him, releasing his hold almost immediately.

He got a nod in reply.

“Let me get you some water.” He inwardly cursed that he no longer had a mini-fridge in the office and dashed out to the kitchen.

“Jensen?” Tom stood at the bottom of the stairs, a curious eyebrow raised.

“Water!” He told him, wrenching the fridge door open and knocking something onto the floor as the scrabbled for the water bottles. Eggs, damn it!

“I’ll take care of those,” Tom told him, grinning.

“ _And_ my fridge,” he glared at him. “Back in office, today!”

“Not a problem.”

 

He raced back to his office, heeling the door shut behind him before crouching in front of Jared and offering him the water. “I used to have a mini-fridge in here until the others took it out,” he explained. “Apparently I spend too much time in here.” Why he was telling him this he had _no_ idea. He was babbling, he realised - so much for his improving social skills.

As Jared began to drink Jensen got to his feet, leaning against the edge of his desk in a bid to quell the urge he had to stroke his fingers through the younger man’s hair.

Jared drank his fill before screwing the top back on the bottle and rolling it across his cheeks and forehead, eyes closed.

“I’m sorry,” Jared told him, the empty bottle grasped in both hands.

“You’ve nothing to be sorry for,” he rushed to assure him.

Jared shrugged. “Do you know the full story about this candidate shit?”

“I do.”

“Kane told you?”

“Some of it, yes.” It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth either.

Jared looked away from him to stare at the bottle in his hands but Jensen could see the tremble in his lips. “Th-they want me…” He paused, clearly fighting to keep control of his emotions, his eyes were brimming with moisture. “I keep going over it in my mind, y’know? They… a couple of senators and some guy… I don’t know; NSA, CIA, whatever the fuck he was, and that arrogant bastard Elvington from the CDC. They told me about these aliens.” He glanced up at Jensen, no doubt gauging his reaction. “Fucking aliens, can you believe that? The NSA guy told me they’d made these demands. He talked about them being the enemy within. It all seemed crazy and I tuned most of it out until he started talking about me being a candidate. He said that their leader was searching for the right candidate to fucking m-mate with! Did… Did you know about that part?”

Jensen could only nod.

“I can’t” Jared crushed the bottle in his hands. “How can they expect me to fucking _do_ that? This isn’t fucking Star Trek!”

“Star Trek?” Jensen knew it was a TV show but he didn’t understand the significance.

 “That whole Spock thing - ‘the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few’ - or in my case, the fucking one. It sounds all noble and shit when it’s fiction but this is _me_ , my life, my future, except I don’t fucking _have_ one.” He buried his face in his hands.

Jensen fought the urge to go over to him, hold him, but his feet, it seemed, had a mind of their own. “Jared?”

He caved in to instinct – or maybe it was desire - just enough to place a hand on the younger man’s shoulder – felt the tension there. After a moment Jared looked up at him.

“Jared?” Jensen tried again. “You don’t have to…”

Jared suddenly got to his feet, offering an apologetic smile. “I can’t stay here Jensen. I can’t let this happen to me. I’m going up to the room to pack my things. I’m grateful, more than grateful, for everything you’ve done for me, but I have to leave. I can’t just stay here and wait for them to come for me.”

Jensen pulled in a deep breath. “No one will come for you here.”

Jared shook his head. “It’s the US government, Jensen. It’s not like Kane’s not gonna tell his bosses where I am. I don’t blame him, I mean… The man probably saved my fucking life, but…”

“Kane doesn’t work for the government Jared, he works for me.”

Jared frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“I sent him when I knew the candidates were in danger,” he explained. “There _were_ people in place to ensure the safety of every candidate but, even so, I was naïve; I didn’t foresee the extremes some countries were prepared to go to. I had no idea that the CDC planned to do what they did. All they were supposed to do was confirm the blood test results.” He shook his head. “I’m so sorry for that, for the pain I’m causing you.” Jensen looked down at his feet, unable to keep looking at Jared even though he wanted to. “I’ve been waiting all my life to find you, Jared.”

“What?” Jared eyes went wide before his face crumbled in confusion. “What are you saying? You…”

He knew he had to tell him the truth, no matter what. “Me,” he confirmed. “I’m the one who’s been searching for you.”

There was shock and confusion on his face as he backed away from Jensen, knocking over the chair he’d been sitting on and sending it crashing to the floor. “You’re not…”

“Human,” Jensen finished for him. “But then neither are you – not entirely.”

“Is this some kind of sick fucking _joke_?” He slowly shook his head, anger in his eyes. “That fucker Kane! He wasn’t helping me. He was _delivering_ me, to _you_!”

“I didn’t want it to happen like this Jared. I…”

“You need to shut your fucking mouth!” He was bristling with rage, fingers raking through his hair. “It was so damn easy for you, wasn’t it? You and Kane, you played me and I was so damned stupid, so fucking gullible that I never even suspected.” He shook his head. “What about the rest of them out there?” He gestured at the door. “Jason, Tom?”

“They’re my people, my family.”

“ _None_ of them are human, not even Sam?”

Jensen shook his head. “No.”

Jared’s mouth tightened, his hands curled into fists at his side. “I have to admit this is all pretty neat, impressive even. You gain my trust and then you bring me here to the middle of fucking nowhere before you finally tell me the truth. Did you laugh about it, huh?”

“You don’t understand Jared.” Jensen took a step towards him but the movement only made Jared back towards the door.

“Don’t you fucking come near me. Stay away!”

Jensen backed off, hands raised in front of him. “Please Jared, just… I won’t touch you and I’m not a threat to you, I promise.”

“Not a threat?” He laughed but it wasn’t a pleasant sound. “You’re holding the fucking _world_ at ransom! You brought me here and you think you have the right to, to… I can’t even fucking _say_ it!”

“Jared, you need to calm down, _please_. If you let me explain everything…”

“Explain what?” he snapped back. His body was shaking and Jensen could almost feel his rage and... Fear, Jared was afraid, something he’d never wanted. “That you’re really a good guy?” Jared spat out. “And somehow that makes it okay for you to kidnap me, to fucking _mate_ me? Is that what you’re going to explain to me? What can you possibly tell me that will make _any_ of this shit acceptable?”

“You’re frightened and you’re angry, with good reason,” Jensen told him, forcing his voice and his manner to remain calm. “I understand that, I do. What you said is true, in a way. I am holding the world at ransom, to some extent.” He tore his gaze away from Jared and walked over to the window, looking out at the land beyond the house. “It’s beautiful here, don’t you think?” He didn’t wait for Jared to reply. “I never saw our home world but the stories, passed down through generations tell us that it was once very beautiful. I often stand here and wonder if this is how it looked.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I’m fifth generation and our generations are very, very long compared to yours.”

“You were born on earth?” Jared asked him.

He nodded. “We all were. Our planet was dying, torn apart by endless wars, pollution, famine and chaos. By the time we came to our senses, and realised what we’d done, it was too late. Some chose to stay, determined to keep fighting, to change things or do what they could for those who had no hope of leaving – the sick, the dying. There were fifty ships in total, not nearly enough, only two thousand in each ship. Thirty of them were either over run or shot down. The rest, containing our forefathers, took flight.”

“And headed here?”

“No. They had no real way of knowing what was out there, beyond our solar system; if there were habitable worlds. Each ship set out on a different course. My ancestors landed here.”

“What about the others?”

Jensen shrugged. “We don’t know. I like to imagine that they’re out there somewhere but, in truth, it’s doubtful. There was little chance of anyone surviving. They knew that when they left our world behind.”

“So you don’t know what happened to your world?”

Jensen turned his head to look at Jared. “This _is_ my world. I was born here and I’ll die here. But no, to answer your question, there’s no way of knowing what happened. My ancestors destroyed their ship and their technology when they came here. They made their homes amongst humanity. The memories remain though, passed down to us together with the knowledge of our forebears. None of that knowledge has ever been used to advance this world beyond its time. In hindsight, perhaps that was a mistake. The earth is changing, _has_ changed, so very much. Pollution, global warming, senseless wars,” he sighed. “It’s being eroded, destroyed, just as my ancestor’s home world was.”

“So you’ve decided to change things?”

Jensen turned away from the window. “Yes. Is that wrong?” It was a question he’d repeatedly asked himself. “Do we use our knowledge and our strength to re-create the ships of our ancestors and set off into the unknown again leaving the earth and humanity behind us or do we step in and prevent what’s happening?” He asked Jared. “What’s the right answer, tell me? In my place, what would you do?”

“Why keep your existence a secret?” Jared wanted to know, ignoring his question, his curiosity clearly calming his anger – at least for now.

“We didn’t at first. We thought we could fully integrate with humans but we allowed our differences to show and we were seen by many as either gods or monsters. Far worse than that; relationships were formed, and the children born from those matings were – different. Some of them were gifted, but others were truly monstrous. They became the stuff of superstition and fear; witches, prophets and seers, vampires, ghouls, demons… You name it Jared and they have their origins in that time of interbreeding. The High Alpha stepped in, forbade those relationships, and ever since then we’ve hidden our existence from you.”

“So you don’t live among us?”

“Quite the contrary, actually. These days we hide in plain sight. We’re the family down the road, the teacher in your school, the cop on the corner, the businessman. We’re everyone. We live by your laws and by ours.”

“And no one knows?” Jared had moved closer, away from the door, though Jensen wasn’t sure he was aware of it.

“We’ve learned to keep our differences well-hidden and if there is a suspicion – which is rare – we’ve perfected the art of disappearing.” Jensen took a seat on the couch and faced Jared. “It doesn’t make moving on, leaving things, friendships behind, any easier.” He sighed. “It’s never been our intention to conquer the earth. My ancestors were refugees looking for a chance of survival. What we _do_ want is to save it. We can’t let what happened to our mother world happen here.”

Jared stared at him for a long moment and then bent down to right the chair he’d knocked over earlier. Jensen thought he intended to sit in it but to his surprise he came over and sat on the opposite couch.

“So what happened?” Jared asked. “Why reveal yourselves now? I mean you’re working towards it, clean energy, and your investment in green technology.”

“We’ve entered a new epoch, Jared. Humanity’s impact on the earth has become so profound, so reckless since the middle of the twentieth century that it threatens the existence of all life on this planet. Al Gore called global warming an ‘inconvenient truth’ and yet, more than a decade later, so many countries are paying little more than lip service to its existence. We’ve done all we can to push the issue but despite investing billions in green technologies, we’ve left things too late.” He sighed. “For every slow step forward; greed, politics and war takes us two steps back.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, eyes on Jared. “This hasn’t been an easy decision for us. We kept waiting for the penny to drop. Even now it may be too late.” He sighed. “You’re not saying a lot.”

“It’s kind of a lot to take in,” Jared told him, fingers brushing back his hair. “I can see why you’ve done this but… I don’t know if it’s the right thing to do. What if they just say no?”

“No one has.”

Jared frowned. “That’s hard to believe. Why not?”

“Because we demonstrated to each and every world leader, in the space of twenty four hours, just how vulnerable they were, and then we showed them what we were capable of.”

“How?”

“According to the current figures the world’s population stands at around seven and a half billion, my people make up almost a third of that total.”

Jared shook his head. “No, that can’t be possible, that’s insane. How could no one _know_?”

“Because people see what they want to see and, for the most part they choose to ignore anything strange. We fit in with humanity; we’ve been fitting in for thousands of years. It was easier to integrate than you might think.”

Jared nodded. ”Is it just you, your people?”

He nodded. “We’ve never come across anyone else.”

“So,” Jared stared at him. “You demonstrated?”

“We grounded all flights out of the UK for twenty four hours, hit Russia with a wave of power cuts that cut all but essential services over a space of seventy two hours, stopped internet connectivity in China, interfered with world financial markets and we demonstrated our military strength to UN observers.”

Jared’s forehead creased into a frown. “You have an _army_?”

Jensen shook his head. “No, not really. What we have is a darker and more primitive side to our nature, a side we’re able to call upon if needed. Our race has always had a dual nature. The ancestors wondered if that would change when we left our own solar system behind but the power of this moon is so much stronger than that of our mother planet. Rather than diminish our dual nature it’s strengthened both sides of that bond. My people _can_ be killed, but not easily.” He watched Jared take that in, waited for questions.

“You can be hurt though; Jason has a scar.”

“He has several,” Jensen smiled, remembering. “He was hot-headed when he was younger, to such an extent that he came close to revealing our existence. We argued and we fought.”

“You and Jason?” Jared’s eyes widened.

He nodded. “It was his choice; he had a lot to prove to himself at the time. It was obvious he was going to challenge either myself or Tom, he chose me.”

“You seem to get on okay now.”

“We do. It was a long, long time ago. We’re both older and wiser now. There’s no one calmer in a crisis or more dependable than Jason. I hope I’m less judgmental and I know I’m not as easy to anger as I used to be. We’ve both grown up I guess. You have a brother don’t you?”

Jared nodded. “Jeff.”

“Are you close?” He wanted to know.

“Yeah. We’ve had our arguments, a few fights, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

“Then you understand.”

“I do. Do you understand how important it is to me that I get back to him, to my family, go home?”

Jensen sighed. “Which brings us, as they say, to the elephant in the room.”

“No!” Jared shook his head, getting to his feet. “Look, I understand what you’re doing here. I get it and… I don’t know if the way you’re going about this is right or wrong, but I understand your reasoning and if there is another way I can’t see it, but the rest…” He tugged nervously at the cuffs of his shirt. “I’m not whoever it is that you want me to be. I can’t _be_ that person. I have a life and a family of my own and I can’t give all that up because of this candidate shit.” His voice raised. “I don’t give a fuck what the results of some blood test has told you.” He rubbed a long finger between his brows. “Look, you seem like a good guy Jensen. You may be who you say you are, or you may be fucking nuts, but whatever it is that you think is between us… You’re wrong! I’m _not_ your mate! I’m not attracted to you. I’m not even gay, for fuck’s sake.” His face had reddened as he spoke. “I’m going to my room. The next time I see you, or anyone else, it needs to be because you’ve made the arrangements to take me home.”

“It’s not safe,” Jensen began but Jared cut him off.

“I don’t _give_ a shit! This is _my_ life. What you choose to do is your affair but one way or another I’m leaving and I’m going home.” He turned on his heel and left the office slamming the door shut behind him.

Jensen sighed, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. “So, that went well,” he muttered to himself. He needed to think, needed to fix this, but he didn’t have the slightest clue how he might do that.

 

 

Jared stormed up the stairs to his room, grateful that no one else seemed to be around and uncertain how he would have reacted if they had been. He wasted no time in stuffing everything into his back pack, except for his phone. He grabbed that instead and sat on the side of the bed, staring at it. He thumbed through his list of contacts, not sure what to do, stopping at his brother’s name.

What was he supposed to say? ‘Hey Jeff, I’m somewhere in the wilds of Montana and I’ve been kidnapped by a bunch of eco-friendly aliens who plan to take over the world. Oh, and their leader wants to mate with me, so if you wouldn’t mind coming to get me…’ There was no way to explain this shit to anyone he knew, not without sounding demented. He went on to google maps instead and found his current location – in the middle of fucking nowhere! There was a small town to the south marked on the map – Manning Flatts. It had to be the place Jason had mentioned during breakfast. He realised he’d need a car to get anywhere. He didn’t have a clue how to steal a damn car, other than what he’d seen on the TV or in movies, but if he could find where they kept the keys then maybe he could _borrow_ one. Manning Flatts might have a sheriff’s office, he could… No, that would be too risky. If he could get to Bozeman he could get a flight home, back to Texas – just a four-hour flight. He went back onto maps. It was maybe a three, three and a half, hour drive. He could do this!

 

____________________________________________ 

 

 

Jensen sat on the edge of the patio, the pool and the house behind him, and took a drink of his coffee, gazing out at the forest and the mountains beyond. He forced himself not to concentrate too hard, not to let his vision sharpen and search out every movement. Not to let his nose sniff out the scents on the wind.

 He knew that over the last weeks he’d spent too much time closeted in his office, tied to his phone, the computer and the endless reports he received from around the world. He needed some freedom. Despite the size of the house and having his family around him, he felt cooped up. He wanted to run, to let his body fully stretch and his muscles ache with life.

“Soon.” He made the promise to himself.

Things _were_ going well, better than he’d actually expected. Everything they had done, _were_ doing, had been years in the planning. Every detail had been poured over, ripped apart and then carefully put back together and analysed again. It had taken years to put his people in the right places, so the transition would be as smooth as possible. All that effort, all their attention to detail had paid off, at least so far.

It was Jared that troubled him. He had to speak to him again. Things had gone well between them, at least at first. Jared had listened, understood what they were doing, but his barriers had gone up when he’d tried to bring the conversation around to the subject of their mating. He understood why, but even so it had been… difficult. His instincts had cried out to him. He wanted to run his tongue over that golden flesh that smelled like sunshine, explore every curve and bulge of muscle, to seek out every one of those dark, intriguing moles. The whole house seemed to be filled with Jared’s scent, so heavy he could almost touch it.

He’d thought – been sure in fact – that once they met Jared would know, would understand somehow. With hindsight he realised he should have known better. His would be the first High Alpha mating in over two thousand years. The last time it had happened humans had been more in tune with their primitive side. They had changed, evolved a great deal since then. Perhaps that was why Jared hadn’t responded to the call of his scent.

He remembered his own birth father vividly. Like Jared, he’d been a human omega, the rarest of creatures, young and beautiful, only twenty years old. His Alpha father had been a hundred and twenty when Jensen was born but he had looked older than Jensen did now. His Omega father had outlived the High Alpha by over three hundred years. All of his people aged differently here. They’d yet to discover why that was, but suspected it was connected to the strength of the earth’s moon. Both his fathers had spoken to him of their mating, talked about how they’d been drawn to each other and the passion and longing the call of their bond had ignited in them.

Jensen felt it, had since the moment he had caught Jared’s scent. All he’d felt from Jared was a sense of confusion and rising uncertainty which overwhelmed everything else.

Jensen put his coffee cup down and let himself drop the seven feet to the grassland below. Once there he stripped himself of his clothes, tossing them back up onto the patio for safe keeping before letting instinct take over. His vision sharpened, his hearing became more acute and he picked up the scents borne on the warm breeze. Within seconds his body stretched – still reforming as he allowed himself to run free.

 

___________________________________________

 

Shouldering his backpack, Jared made his way slowly down the stairs, listening for anyone who might be about, but the house was silent. There was no one in the kitchen area and he figured that the way out of the house must be beyond there somewhere. He moved slowly, passing a couple of doors until he found himself in an impressive entrance hall, fronted by a massive carved door. There was a table to one side of the door, beneath a fancy stained-glass window. No car keys on it, but beside it was a box, similar to one his momma had to hold keys.

He opened it and grinned. It was just like the one his momma had, not only that but the car keys were all neatly labelled. He grabbed the one that said Blue Range Rover before making his way out through the door, as quietly as he could. The car he was looking for was parked in one of the garage bays. Beyond the large parking area was a long, wide curving drive that presumably led to the road. The guy Jason had said that there was a town sixty or so miles to the south so he was pretty certain civilisation must be that way. If he could make it to an airport he could catch a flight, he had to be in range of either Bozeman or Missoula. Bozeman, for certain, had flights to Texas and he had his card on him. The car was an eco-hybrid and when he turned the engine on it showed a full charge, thank fuck. The last thing he wanted to do was sneak back in to get a different set of keys.

His hands tightened on the wheel as he gunned the Range Rover south towards the nearby town, anger pressing his foot firmly down on the accelerator. He’d not seen another car in either direction but he figured the town had to be a fairly small settlement this far out, maybe did some tourist trade in season.

He wondered if Ackles lived here permanently or if he had another house or two somewhere. He had to be able to afford it. He’d thought Ackles was a decent guy, that he’d wanted to help him, but that had been nothing but fucking bullshit. He was the cause of all this, a whack job kidnapper, a crazy man with enough money to do whatever the fuck he liked. Jesus! How could he have been so _fucking_ stupid?

A battered red pick-up suddenly appeared out of nowhere in front of him, there were kids, loose in the back!

“ _Fuck_!”

He fought the wheel as he swerved desperately to avoid them. For a second, he thought he’d made it, just before the road zigzagged sharply and then there was nothing but empty air.

_____________________________________

 

 

Jared woke to white hot pain and a montage of images; the mangled metal and shattered glass that had once been a blue Range Rover, a kaleidoscope of faces he didn’t recognise and voices he knew were filled with concern – even though he couldn’t make out the words.

The sounds and images slowly faded to be replaced by nothing but the pain, overwhelming and unbearable. He tried to move away, to make it stop. He could hear loud, violent screams which he suddenly realised were his own.

“ _Easy_ son, try not to move. We’re gonna get you out of there.”

The voice was familiar but he couldn’t put a name to it. Keeping his eyes open was an effort of will, but after a few tries he managed it, at least partially. Everything was blurred, stained red and he felt a surge of panic. “E-eyes?” He forced the word out, trying but failing to reach up and touch them.

“They’re fine.” Strong, warm fingers wrapped around his wrist and gently moved his hand away. “Just calm down, Jared, it’s okay. Do you remember what happened?”

Did he? He tried to piece together the fragments. “Driving, red pick-up…” He’d been driving, fast, had to get somewhere… There was another car, a corner, too fast, too sharp, he’d swerved and then there were trees…

“Hurt? Hurt anyone?” He couldn’t remember. “T-tried to swerve, couldn’t…” The feeling of panic came surging back, what if he’d hurt someone?

“Easy, _easy_! The only person you managed to hurt was yourself. We’re gonna get you out of there, okay?”

“’Kay.” It was hard to breathe and the slightest movement sent white-hot pain searing down his right hand side.

“That’s good. You need to stay with me, keep as still as you can so we can get you the hell out of there.”

 

Sprawled on his belly, leaning half over the cliff to talk to Jared, who was wrapped in the battered remnants of what had once been a Range Rover, Chris Kane looked back over his shoulder at Jim Beaver; the sheriff of Manning Flatts.

“How are we doing?” If they were going to get Jared out of there, before the fucking 4x4 went into the ravine, they were going to have to do it quickly, without cutting gear or any other damn thing and that meant they were _all_ gonna have to change.

“We’re good,” Jim assured him. “We got more help waiting if you need it. My deputies are manning road blocks either end. We got a stretcher up here from Doc Marcie all ready.”

“Okay. If I start to slip…”

Beaver nodded. “Then I’ll change too.”

Chis gave him a smile gratitude before turning back to focus on Jared. The kid’s eyes had closed and he hoped to hell he’d just passed out. “Jared, can you hear me?”

There was no response, but thankfully he was still breathing. They didn’t have much time left.

“Jason, we’re ready,” He called out.

“ _Change_!” Jason commanded them. “Let’s get him out of there!”

Chris let his one-self fade as the other took over and filled him; stretching limbs and knotting heavy, powerful muscle. He wrapped his arms around the Omega, holding him firm and secure, while his brothers and sisters systematically ripped apart the remains of the car he was trapped in, using claws more powerful and dextrous than any cutting tool, and muscles like steel. The warm, honey sweet scent of the boy was souring with pain and injury. He was fading and they couldn’t let that happen. This boy was the hope, the life of their people and if they lost him they would lose the High Alpha too. They wouldn’t allow that to happen. Couldn’t!

“Now Kane!”

The sounds of groaning, tearing metal filled the air, as the battered vehicle was wrenched apart around Jared. Kane pulled, bringing the boy up with him onto the bank, Jared’s cries of pain almost drowned out by the sound of the vehicle breaking to pieces, as it bounced down the cliff into the ravine far below. Holding a thankfully unconscious Jared close he willed his body to slip back as his brothers and sisters joined him.

_________________________________

 

Jensen had let himself change back to walk the last couple of miles to the house, where he’d left his clothes. Tom was waiting for him, crouched on top of the wall. He was freshly showered, dark hair slicked down and damp, feet bare beneath the black jeans he was wearing, shirt hanging open. Clearly there was something wrong.

“What is it?”

Tom threw him his pants. “It’s Jared.”

“Tell me!”

He sighed. “He stole the Range Rover and made a run for it. He lost control of the truck about two miles north of Manning Flatts…”

“The ravine!” Jensen realised. He knew it had to be bad, Tom wouldn’t have been out here waiting for him if not. He sniffed the air and found the scent he was searching for. “He’s alive.”

Tom nodded. “Jim alerted us. The truck slipped over, thankfully it was caught up in some undergrowth and we managed to get him out before it fell.”

“How bad is he?” Jared’s scent was dark and bitter.

“It’s not good Jensen. Jason’s with him now.”

“Fuck!” He leapt up onto the patio. “This is my fault! I should have…”

“Don’t! Don’t do this. This was never going to be easy; we knew that from the outset. What matters now is that Jared’s alive, and Jason is doing all he can to keep him that way. He doesn’t need you charging in there, he needs you to be calm, to be there for him.”

“I don’t need a fucking intervention right now, Tom!”

“Not an intervention, just concern, for both of you.”

Jensen sighed. “Sorry, I…”

Tom got to his feet and squeezed Jensen’s shoulder. “Jason’s expecting you. Put on your trousers and go and see your boy.”

\---------------------------------------------------

 

“How is he?”

Jason looked up from the book he was reading as the door opened and Jensen entered, crossing to stand beside Jared’s bed. His face was stone, giving nothing away of what he was feeling, but Jason knew better. He had over five hundred years of experience in reading his friend and alpha’s moods. Beneath the tan Jensen had paled significantly and his expressive eyes told an entirely different story.

“Not good,” he admitted. “He woke a while back but he was more out than in. If he was fully human he’d be dead by now.”

“But he’s not.”

“No.” Jason put his book down, “But he’s bad Jensen.”

The green eyes finally met his. “How bad?”

“His left leg has multiple breaks, lower left arm too, broken ribs, internal injuries. His dual nature is the only thing keeping him alive.”

“What about a human hospital?”

“If he survived the journey, and that’s doubtful, there’s not a lot they could do for him and any blood transfusion…”

Would kill him anyway. “Shit!” Jensen ran his hands through his hair in clear frustration, his green eyes filling with moisture, the controlled mask he wore breaking to reveal his utter devastation. “This is my fault, I should have…”

“Should have, would have, what does it matter?”

 Jensen rubbed at the back of his neck. “What do I do, Jason? I don’t know anymore. This happened because he was running away from me, because I fucked up!”

“This isn’t your fuck up, you can’t blame yourself. This was never gonna be easy on the kid, how could it be? There hasn’t been a High Alpha mating in over two thousand years and mankind has evolved so much in that time. The old rules don’t apply anymore, not in this age.”

“You think I don’t _know_ that?” Jensen asked him

“There’s no way of sugar coating this, I wish there were. You have two options that I can see,” Jason told him. “Let him die or wait. It’s the full moon in two days’ time. Jared’s a fighter and I think he’ll make it. He feels the moon’s call, even if he doesn’t realise it. You either start to turn him beneath that moon or you let him die.”

Jensen sat down heavily in the chair by the bed, hands rubbing over his face before he moved them away to focus on Jared.

There was nothing more that Jason could say to his friend and so he left the silence between them, giving Jensen time to think things through, and turned back to his book.

“Do you remember when we fought?” Jensen asked him, sometime later.

Jason snorted, fingers moving up to touch the scar above his eye. “I have a mirror, so yeah. I was kind of a fuck-up back then.”

“But you had a point.”

“I always have a point. The only difference is that these days I tend to think them through a bit more before I open my mouth.”

“You know, you came pretty close back then. It took everything I had left to get you to stay the fuck down.” Jensen smiled.

Jason put down his book, figuring this talk was going somewhere. “Yeah, well I always have been an obstinate bastard,” he conceded.

“That’s true.”

“Besides, I thought you were going to kill me.” He frowned, he’d always been curious but had never asked the question. “Why didn’t you?”

“Like I said, you had a point and you were willing to risk your life for it. What kind of leader would I have been to ignore that? It was one of my better decisions; you’ve never given me cause to doubt you.”

“It’s in our nature to butt heads,” Jason pointed out. “Tom broods away at things until he’s pissed enough to let you know. Me, I just let it the fuck out.”

“Tom’s always been a thinker; logical, thorough, always has your back.”

Jason frowned. “And he’d probably know where you were going with this shit, but I don’t, so why don’t you fucking tell me?”

Jensen’s eyes snapped back to Jared and lingered. “I can’t take his choices away from him.”

“He doesn’t have _choices_ Jensen. You start the turn, mix your DNA with his or he dies and that’s it.”

“Wait a minute.” Realisation dawned on him, he knew what Jensen was getting at. “No! You can’t fucking do this!”

Jensen’s green eyes dulled. “I can’t make the decision for him, Jason. It wouldn’t be right.”

“But you can make it for _me_ , for our people?” Jason shook his head. “No! I can’t let you fucking _do_ this!”

“I’m your High Alpha, the decision’s mine, but I’m not Jared’s _anything,_ as much as I might want to be. He has the right to decide if he lives or dies.”

“And if he chooses death, what then? We’ve worked so hard to get things to where they are now.”

His alpha’s eyes crinkled in a smile. “Yes, we have, all of us. That doesn’t change.”

“Jensen!” Everything would change, Jason knew it. “If Jared chooses to die…”

“If he dies then it’s over for me, you know that’s true. There won’t ever be another omega for me. My one true mate is _here_ and if he dies then I can’t be your High Alpha and I…” He frowned. “I’ve waited all my life to find him Jason. If I lose him, then there’s nothing left, no place for me. I need _you_ to ensure that we finish what I started. It was always going to be you.”

“No,” Jason shook his head. “You can’t ask this of me, you _can’t_!”

“I’m asking you because I know that you’ll always do what’s best for our people, and for humanity, and I’m asking you because, if it comes down to it and my instincts take over, there’s only you with the power to take me down.”

Jason hung his head, knowing it was true. “I don’t want to.”

Jensen smiled. “I know,” he said softly. “But you will, if you have to.”

Jason felt moisture fill his eyes and he rubbed at them. “ _If_ I have to,” he agreed, “But it won’t come to that.”

 Jensen gazed at the boy who lay in the bed between them, reaching out to let his fingers stroke lightly over Jared’s hair. “Let’s hope not.”

 

_________________________________

 

Jared felt like he was adrift, floating, mainly in darkness. He caught words, snippets of conversation, sometimes. The voices were quiet, familiar but he struggled to put names to them.

_‘How’s he doing?’_

_‘We can’t lose him, lose either of them.’_

_‘What if he chooses to die?’_

_‘The kid’s strong, he’s a fighter.’_

_‘Has to be his choice…’_

_‘Is there no chance without…’_

_‘He won’t deny him his choice, it’s not in his nature.’_

_‘Weaker.’_

Sometimes the pain, always constant, pushed hard at him, forcing his reluctant eyes to open. Jason would be there whenever that happened, with soft words and reassurances until the pain fell away and he drifted back into sleep. He’d dream sometimes, or remember _,_ he wasn’t sure which. He’d dream about dinner at his momma’s house, plates piled high with food and her knowing smile. He dreamt of throwing the football with his brother in the back yard when he was a kid, snuggling up against him on the couch, watching the Cowboys play football. He dreamt of his grandma too; of her fingers stroking through his hair, soft eyes dancing as she told him he was special, her lamb.

Sometimes there were green eyes. He knew them. Green eyes and a soft, lush mouth that comforted him with tender words and there was… It was a smell, a scent of warmth and spice that soothed him, made him forget the pain and took away his fear. He wasn’t sure if the green-eyed man was real, He meant to ask Jason, but…

The pain pushed at him now, not too hard but it cut into the comfort of sleep enough that he opened his eyes, forcing them to focus and take in his surroundings, see Jason perched on the edge of his bed.

“Jared, you with me?”

He tried to speak but his throat was dry, lips parched.

“Let me help.” Something wet, lemony, smoothed over his cracked lips, inside his mouth before it was replaced by a straw. “Just slow sips, okay?”

The water felt good, loosening his throat, and he licked gratefully at his lips, chasing moisture after reluctantly releasing the straw. “Better,” he told Jason.

“I know you’re hurting but we need to talk. If it gets to be too much you need to tell me.”

“’Kay,” he agreed, He wasn’t a fool; he was pretty much sure he knew the truth but he wanted to hear it from Jason. “’M I dying?”

Jason nodded. “If it wasn’t for your dual nature you’d have died at the crash site.”

“Hospital?”

Jason shook his head. “We couldn’t risk it. Any transfusions they gave you would have weakened you, not helped you.”

“Alien blood?”

Jason nodded. “Kinda, but right now it’s neither; not human and it’s not ours.”

So, no blood transfusions either way, Jared realised “Fucked then.” He closed his eyes not wanting Jason to see what he was thinking, not wanting to see pity in Jason’s expression. He fought to stop his face from crumbling, from letting out the tears he could feel welling up inside him.

“Hey, you’re not fucked. There’s a chance,” he explained. “A choice you have to make.”

“Kinda choice?”

“I need you to let Jensen explain it to you.”

“Jensen?”

Jason nodded. “He’s waiting outside. Can I let him in?”

He wasn’t sure if he wanted _anyone_ to see him like this. What he wanted was his Grandma here to hold his hand, tell him everything was gonna be okay. More than anything he wanted this to be just another dream but he knew it wasn’t.

“Jared?”

He realised Jason was waiting for an answer. “Let him in.”

He nodded. “I’ll wait outside, but you just tell Jensen if you need me.”

He gave what he hoped was a nod and let his eyes follow Jason to the door. He heard the low murmur of voices from outside, softly spoken words he couldn’t quite make out and wasn’t sure he wanted to hear.

Jensen entered after a moment. He looked tired. His face was drawn and pale enough to let his mass of freckles show clearly. He came and sat carefully on the side of the bed and that scent Jared kept noticing, came with him.

“Smell good.” It took Jensen’s smile for him to realise he said those words out loud.

“I wasn’t sure if you could scent me.”

“Not cologne?”

He shook his head, smile still there. “Just me.”

He wanted to ask questions, know more, but in the scheme of things he knew that it wasn’t what he should be focusing on.

“W-what are my choices?”

“Straight to the point, huh?” Jensen’s smile dimmed a little as he reached out and took Jared’s hand in his. At the touch, a feeling of comfort washed over him almost immediately and without really thinking he locked his fingers with Jensen’s.

“Tell me.”

Jensen nodded. “I can save you, if you let me, if you can allow yourself to trust me. I’d never hurt you Jared and you have nothing to fear from me, I promise.”

“No lies?” He needed the truth now, more than anything.

Jensen nodded. “I won’t lie to you and I won’t hide anything from you. You have my word.”

Jared returned nod. “How can you save me?”

“Tomorrow is the full moon. The fact that you can already scent me leaves me with no doubt that you’ll feel the moon’s effects, and that you’ll feel stronger beneath her and more comfortable around me. If you agree and let me claim you when the moon is at her highest…”

Jared didn’t understand. “Claim, w-what does that mean?”

“I’ll bite you, here.” Jensen leaned in and lightly touched his skin, where his neck and shoulder met, sending a shiver down his spine.

“A bite? Will it hurt?”

“A little, but only for a moment. Compared to what you’re feeling now you’ll barely even notice it. That bite will mix my DNA with yours and you’ll begin the change. The only reason you’re still alive now is because you already have some of our DNA but when it mixes with mine you’ll heal, probably in a matter of days. There’s a catch though,” Jensen sighed.

“What catch?” He might have guessed it wouldn’t be that easy.

“That’s just the beginning; the first bite will heal you but it will also start a series of changes in your body that won’t _just_ heal you. By the next full moon you’ll no longer be human; you’ll start to become one of us, an omega. You’ll still be the same person, still be you, but your body will have changed. You’ll become stronger, faster,” he smiled, “Hopefully no taller, but…” He hesitated.

“But?”

Jensen took in a deep breath. “Those changes won’t last, won’t be complete, not unless I mate you.”

Jensen’s mate, he remembered, able to bear his children. “I-I…”

Jensen looked down at their joined hands. “I guess the elephant’s back in the room, huh?” He sighed. “As important as this has always been to me, I mean it when I say that if there was some other way I could save your life, other than this, then I would.”

“So if you don’t mate me?”

“Then you’ll die.” It was as blunt as it was honest.

“Couldn’t I mate with one of the others, a woman?” Jared asked him.

He shook his head. “Only the High Alpha can claim you Jared, heal you. I’m sorry.”

“So there’s no alternative?”

He scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck, green eyes staring off at nothing before eventually pulling in a deep breath and meeting Jared’s gaze once more. “There’s a slight possibility that, if someone were to challenge and defeat me, they may be able to claim you. It’s a small one. You may be the perfect partner for me but that doesn’t mean you’d be the right one for the next High Alpha. It’s not all about the DNA, but…”

“Wait!” Jared’s head was spinning. “By defeat you do you mean if you died?”

“There’d be no point in my going on without a mate. It’s highly unlikely that I…”

“No, _stop_.” Jared cut him off. This was too fucking much. “ _Just_ stop. I don’t want you throwing your life away for me.”

Jensen shook his head. “Not throwing. My nature wouldn’t allow me to do that, even if I wanted to. Jason is the one with the greatest chance of defeating me…”

Jared was beyond tired, he couldn’t deal with this, not now. “Look, even if there was an option I-I wouldn’t want anyone to fight, to die for me. Not you, not Jason or anyone else.” He felt drained, exhausted and his body was desperate for sleep.

“I’m sorry, I should have spoken to you earlier but I…” Jensen shook his head. “You need to rest.”

Jared wasn’t about to argue with that. “Just an hour or two. I need to think, just give me some time.”

“Of course.” He squeezed Jared’s hand before getting to his feet. “Try and get some rest.”

He could still feel the tingle from Jensen’s touch when Jason came back in and insisted he sleep, could still feel it, even when whatever he injected into his IV pulled him down into oblivion.

 

_____________________________

 

The house was quiet when Jensen made his way down from Jared’s room; deserted, apart from Tom, who was sat in his favourite chair by the window.

“Where is everyone?” It was clear Tom was waiting for him. There was food on the side table, a pot of coffee and two cups. He wasn’t sure he wanted to talk, or eat for that matter. The door to his office was looking welcoming.

“Do you really think I won’t follow you in there?” There were times when Tom knew him far too well.

“I _could_ order you out.”

Tom raised an eyebrow. “But you wouldn’t, so let’s be civilised and sit here instead, hmmh?” He smiled. “Besides, Sam cooked for you; she’s worried you might not be eating.”

“Eating! Seriously?” He rubbed at his temples before grudgingly taking a seat on the nearby couch, knowing that Tom wouldn’t let this rest until he’d said whatever it was he wanted to say.

“Yes, seriously.” Tom let out a sigh. “Not to put too fine a point on it but you look like shit Jensen. You might be High Alpha but right now even I might have a chance of taking you down.”

“You’ve spoken to Jason?” He bristled.

Tom shook his head. “No, I didn’t have to. I know you well enough to predict what you were willing to offer Jared. In your place I don’t doubt I would have probably said the same, been willing to make the sacrifice.  It may be what Jared needed to hear from you.”

“Needed to hear?”

Tom poured them both a cup of coffee and handed one to Jensen. “You’re an exceptional High Alpha Jensen. You’ve seen the future of this world and all the peoples who live here, and you’ve worked tirelessly to ensure that future,” he told him, adding cream and sugar to his own drink. “ _We_ need you; need your vision and your guidance. _You_ , my friend, need happiness, you need Jared, and right now he desperately needs you but it’s going to be a huge decision for him. All I ask of you is that you don’t let him give that decision to anyone less than the High Alpha of our people. You owe him, and us, that much.”

“As High Alpha shouldn’t I just take what I want?” Jensen asked him. “Claim Jared whether he wants me to or not?”

“The High Alpha I revere, respect and love would never do such a thing and if I thought he might I would have challenged his right to lead our people centuries ago.”

Jensen met Tom’s eyes. “There’s a part of me that’s screaming at me to force this, to just take what I want, do what I think is best, for _me_.”

“But you won’t.” Tom stated, clearly more confident than Jensen thought he should be.

“You know, you could be giving me far more fucking credit than you should, Tom.”

He shook his head. “I don’t think so. You’ve always been an obstinate bastard when it comes to doing what’s right. From what I’ve learned about Jared, that’s a quality you both share.”

Jensen couldn’t argue with that. “You’d have made a good High Alpha.”

Tom shook his head. “No, I _really_ wouldn’t. I don’t have your principles. I can be the voice of reason for you, when you need it. I can advise you and irritate the shit out of you, when I have to, but I’m not you, not Jason, nor have I any desire to be. Now, for _all_ our sakes, eat some food, drink your coffee and then try and get some rest for a while.”

“Jared…” He pointed out, knowing he didn’t have to say anymore.

Tom gave him a patient smile. “No doubt needs his sleep even more than you do. Jason will take care of him.”

 

_____________________________

 

Jensen was loathe to admit it, but he had needed sleep, _and_ food. He hadn’t expected to sleep at all but, on Tom’s urging he’d gone up to his bed and slept, surprisingly, for over six hours, waking to feel more like himself than he had since the news of Jared’s accident. He’d showered and dressed then fought the urge to go straight to Jared’s room. He knew that if his condition had deteriorated Jason would have sent for him.

It was still early when he made his way downstairs and he wasn’t sure anyone else would be up but Kane’s voice greeted him from the kitchen. “Sleep well?”

Jensen strolled over. “Better than I expected to be honest,” he admitted, taking a seat on one of the stools. “What are you doing up this early?”

“I relieved Jason for a few hours.”

“Jared?” he wanted to know.

“Jason just checked him over. He slept pretty well.”

That was good news at least. He shrugged off a wave of jealousy that Kane had been the one to sit with Jared while Jason rested, though Tom would probably have dragged him out of there anyway.

“So… “Are you?”

“Planning on feedin’ you?” Kane asked, amusement clear in his dark blue eyes.

“I could…” he began.

Kane grinned. “ _Maybe_ make coffee without burnin’ the whole place down?”

“Are you saying I can’t feed myself?”

“Would _I_ do that?” Kane grinned. “I was just thinkin’ that when you go up to see Jared it might be better for all concerned if you didn’t smell of fresh kill.”

“Oh, ha ha, real funny.”

Kane grinned, getting down a mug and pouring them both a cup of coffee. Jensen actually preferred Kane’s coffee to Sam’s, he made it good and strong, just the way he liked it. Not that he’d ever reveal his preference to Sam, she’d be devastated.

He savoured his coffee while Kane got to work on the food. He wasn’t that useless in the kitchen, not as bad as Kane made out, anyway. It was just something he rarely got to do.

“Sausage, eggs, bacon and toast,” Kane announced, handing him a heaped plate before joining him with one of his own.

Kane didn’t ask him anything, or offer any platitudes, and he was grateful for that. They ate in silence, enjoying the food. He couldn’t stop thinking though, working through his thoughts. He knew he couldn’t take the decision away from Jared. His fate had to be of his own choosing and Jensen would honour that, accept it no matter what. If it came to it, he knew Tom would carry on with their plans and that he’d support and guide Jason, if he became High Alpha.

He cleaned off his plate with the last of his toast and licked at his lips, letting out a sigh. He knew he couldn’t delay this any longer.

“There’s no egg on your face if that’s what you’re worried about.” Kane grinned, taking his plate. “Want some more coffee to take up with you?”

“I’m good, thanks man.”

“No problem. This’ll work out, y’know?”

He _didn’t_ know. He knew what he wanted, but Jared… “I wish I had your faith Kane, I really do.”

Despite the sleep he’d obviously had and the medication Jason was giving him, it was clear to Jensen that Jared had deteriorated over night and a shared look with Jason confirmed it.

He sat down carefully on the side of the bed. As careful as he’d been it still pulled a groan from Jared, who slowly opened his eyes.

“Jared, I’m sorry, I…” He began to apologise but the younger man’s halting voice cut him off.”

“S’okay.”

“Have you..?” He felt like an absolute bastard, forcing the issue. He’d never dreamed anything like this would happen, who could have? “Have you thought about what I said to you yesterday?”

“Nothing else,” he told him, voice little more than a whisper. “I-I don’ wanna die, n-not like this.”

“Then you won’t,” Jensen promised, letting out a breath he didn’t realise he’d been holding.

“Jared and I had a talk earlier,” Jason told him, “An honest one, no sugar coating. I need to tell you what I told him.”

Jensen frowned. “Tell me what?” Not that he hadn’t already guessed, it could only _be_ one thing; Jared wanted Jason to be his alpha.

“Jared had a good night, all things considered but he’s much weaker than he was yesterday and there’s a chance…” His friend hesitated. “The shock of the claim could kill him Jensen.”

“F’king dying anyway,” Jared whispered.

Jensen gazed at him, praying he was hiding the horror he felt at this latest revelation. “Jared, you have to be sure. I don’t want to cause you any more pain.”

“Want you to do it, just… You swear to me I’ll still be me.”

Jensen nodded. “I swear it Jared.”

Jared’s gaze flicked to Jason. “…I live that long?”

He nodded. “If you rest.”

Those ever changing eyes met Jensen’s. “I need you to do it, want you to.”

He nodded, a feeling of relief sweeping over him. “Sleep then. I’ll be back when it’s time.”

________________________________

 

Day or night, full or not, Jensen could always feel the pull of the moon with every fibre of his being. He’d never felt its pull, never awaited its rise, as much as he did today.

The others had prepared a place at the very edge of the deck; a den of cushions, quilts and blankets. They’d moved the fire bowl that Kane, who had once been a blacksmith -  had made for them some years ago, close to the den to give Jared some warmth when it was time.

The moon was approaching its zenith when Jensen made his way upstairs to collect Jared. He would have liked to carry him outside himself but he couldn’t risk inflicting any more pain on him in his weakened state. Instead he and Jason carried him out on the stretcher they’d used to bring him here from Manning Flatts.

 

 

Jason had explained to Jared why he’d had to stop giving him the pain medication. He’d understood that it might interfere with the healing power of the bite, but knowing and understanding did nothing to ease the excruciating pain he was in as they carried him. He was pretty sure he’d bitten through his lip at some point, knew he’d screamed out loud more than once, but he didn’t fucking care. He just wanted this agony to be over, one way or another.

“Jared?”

He was outside. He couldn’t remember coming outside. Maybe he’d passed out for a while. He’d be more than happy if he could pass out again. Any second now would do. He looked up at the sky. It was so clear, there were so many stars.

“Jared, are you with me?” Jensen’s face loomed over him.

“Fuckin’ hurts _so_ bad.”

“I know, but not for much longer. I need to lift you, sit you up a little so you can lean against me, okay?”

It wasn’t fucking okay. It was gonna hurt like a sonofabitch. Maybe he’d black out again or maybe he’d just fucking die, but he nodded anyway.

“God! _Fuck_!” He frantically tried to breathe through it, fought as hard as he could, his working hand gripping desperately at the strong arm that was wrapped around him.

“Open your eyes Jared and look,” Jensen urged him. “Open them!”

His head was tipped back a little, resting against Jensen’s shoulder. Stood out against the darkness was the moon. It seemed so huge, so low it felt as though he could almost reach out and touch it. Its light was everywhere. Maybe, maybe this was heaven. There was a scent all around him, strong but wonderful. It seemed to soothe him, somehow.

He felt something touch him lightly on his bared shoulder. The touch was warm, soft and wet. It tickled as it ran over the junction between his shoulder and neck, warm air following its trail, breath, he realised.

“Keep your eyes on the moon, Jared.”

He was held in a firm grip and then there was pain, enough to make him gasp. His whole body tensed and the pain came back in waves. He thought he might scream, wondered if he would die, but as suddenly as it came the pain disappeared, swallowed up by the moon all around him, touching him, reaching inside and filling every part until he slowly drifted away.

___________________________________

 

 

Jared could hear a woman’s voice singing. At first, he thought it might be the radio until it became clear that, whoever it was, couldn’t hold a tune in a bucket and didn’t really care. He slowly cracked his eyes open to find Adrianne sprawled in a large basket chair beside his bed, head bobbing as she sang along with the song she was listening to in the earphones she was wearing.

“Adrianne?”

He was surprised she had heard him, but she stopped singing at once, turning to face him with a huge grin on her lovely face.

“Did you think it was an angel?”

He couldn’t help smiling back at her. “Not for a minute, sorry.”

“Tom thinks I sing like an angel.”

He sniggered. “That’s because he loves you.”

“That’s true,” she grinned. “Though he’s banned me from singing any Emeli Sande.”

Jared laughed, he couldn’t help it. He tensed himself for pain but, apart from a twinge or two, nothing really hurt all that much. He braced his arms on the bed and pulled himself up into a sitting position. Again, there was some discomfort but no more than he felt when he overworked his muscles in the gym. Compared to what he’d felt before it was nothing.

He remembered being outside, held in Jensen’s arms beneath the moon and stars. He remembered… He reached up to touch curious fingers to the place where, he realised, Jensen had bitten him. He could feel raised marks beneath his fingertips but it didn’t feel like he’d been bitten, the marks didn’t hurt at all.

“Claims always heal fast,” Adrianne told him. “In a day or two all you’ll be able to see are the faintest of marks. They stay really sensitive though, they’re one of those zone things, the sexy ones,” she frowned. “What do they call them?”

Jared stared at her, confused for a moment until the penny dropped. “Erogenous zones?”

“That’s the ones.” She swung her long legs from the side of the chair and got to her feet. “I’d better go let Jensen know you’re awake. He’s been driving everyone crazy this past few days, waiting for you to wake up.”

“Few days? How long is it since I was… bitten?”

“Going on four days. You needed that time for your body to start to heal and the change could begin.”

The change. He didn’t want to focus on that too much, not yet.

“You look way better than you did, though you might want to lose the beard. How are you feeling?”

Jared carefully flexed his limbs, taking stock. “Much better,” he decided. “A few aches, here and there but nothing, really.”

“They’ll be gone soon. Your scent’s changed already.”

“My scent?”

“It’s your chemical make-up, the pheromones you give off.” She explained. “They reveal a lot about us; from our moods, to our family lines, sexual attraction, you name it. To quote Tom; we detect pheromones through our olfactory membranes, just like humans, but our system is highly developed.”

“So, what do I smell like?”

“Like someone who’s been really ill after a major accident and hasn’t showered for days.”

Jared smiled. “You’re saying I stink?”

“Pretty much, but underneath all that I can scent that you’re still part human and you still have that kinda sporty ginger cookie scent, but there’s a spicy scent in there too now, a hint of Jensen.”

“A hint of Jensen,” he repeated. “You make it sound like something from Prada.”

She laughed. “Well technically Jensen’s French, he was born there, so maybe Jean Paul Gaultier?”

“French, really?”

“You should ask him about it,” Adrianne told him. She got out of the chair. “I’m gonna go down stairs, let him know you’re awake. Are you hungry?”

“Starving!” He really was hungry.

“I’ll get you a nice big breakfast,” she promised.

“That sounds great. First things first though; I think I’m ready for a shower,” he told her with a smile. “I reek.”

“You won’t get an argument from me,” she grinned. “You sure you’re feeling strong enough? I could wait here until you’re done or maybe get Jensen to come up?” she offered.

“I erm…” The idea of Jensen being around while he showered didn’t disturb him as much as he thought it would, and that was something he needed to think about, alone. “I’ll be fine,” he told her with a smile. It wasn’t a lie, he felt surprisingly good, considering.

He waited until Adrianne left before getting out of bed. Standing up wasn’t _quite_ as easy as he thought it would be. For a minute or two he felt a lot like a foal on unsteady legs, but after a couple of awkward steps he had his strength and coordination back and made it to the bathroom.

He stood naked in front of the full length bathroom mirror and stared at his reflection. There was no evidence of what had happened, not even any bruising. He checked his arm, searching for a mark from the IV, but there was nothing there other than lines of sticky residue from the tape that had held it in place. There were coppery stains, here and there, that had to be dried blood. They were the only outward signs that the whole thing hadn’t been a figment of his imagination.

He took his time in the shower, sorting through his memories. The details of the crash were fragmented, but they were there; solid and real. He couldn’t remember the rescue at all but that was probably a blessing. It was almost as though it had never happened, even those parts he could remember were hazy. He knew he needed some time to pull things together in his mind.

Jared towelled off, enjoying the clean feeling, and faced his reflection once more as he contemplated his beard. It had to go, but more importantly he needed to clean his teeth, his mouth tasted like ass. He studied his face as he brushed, he was a little pale but apart from that the same as always, except… The bite mark. He held the brush between his teeth as he turned his head aside. It was a ring of tiny, dark wounds that looked as if they’d been healing for a while. Some of them looked a little jagged and they were raised. He ran his fingers over them expecting pain, not the pleasant shiver that ran down his spine. Maybe Adrianne was right, maybe they were an erogenous zone.

He’d never had a scar before. When he was a kid he’d thought scars were kind of cool - at least for a while. There’d been a boy in his class at school, when he was maybe seven or eight. His name was Ralphie Baines. No one really liked Ralphie. He was a skinny kid, never clean and always doing some crazy shit that got him in trouble. Ralphie had a dog, it was skinny too and it spent its life tied up in the front yard. Ralphie  was always hitting it, kicked it sometimes and it upset Jared so much that he’d told his momma. Ralphie  didn’t have a mom, he lived with his dad, and he knew his momma had spoken to him about the way his son treated the dog.  His momma seldom got angry but she had been after talking to Mr Baines. _That_ _man_ , she had called him. Ralphie  was even worse after that, it was like he was showing off when he kicked or hit the dog; proud of it. Then one day, after the holiday, Ralphie  turned up at school with a limp and a huge dressing on his face. When the dressing eventually came off he’d had these marks - deep, nasty and bloody - where the dog had clearly bitten him. Jared had been glad at first, he’d thought that Ralphie  deserved it, but then the dog had vanished from the front yard. The rope was still there but he never saw the dog again. Ralphie  Baines had worn that ugly scar for the rest of his life, till he was shot dead at nineteen by the owner of the liquor store he was trying to rob, three towns over.

 

_________________________________

 

Jensen hovered at the kitchen counter, half a cup of coffee in hand, as he waited for Sam to make up a breakfast tray for Jared. From the moment Adrianne had come downstairs with the news that Jared was awake, headed for the shower, and hungry for breakfast, all he had wanted to do was run up there and see for himself. Instead he’d decided it would be much better to wait, give Jared a little time.

“You know, all this damn hovering ain’t gonna make this go any faster,” Sam snapped.

“I’m not hovering, just having myself a cup of coffee here.” He took a drink, doing his best not to grimace. The damn coffee was all but cold.

She raised an eyebrow at him. “So you say.”

He wondered if Jared actually wanted to see him. Jared was, without doubt, _his_ omega, but nothing about their relationship so far had gone according to plan. He was beginning to realise that there were no guarantees that this would be any different. His scent had _definitely_ changed, it was filling the house. It was powerful and beautiful, settling over Jensen’s skin like silk. His dick had been rock hard for the past twenty four hours, earning himself a mix of knowing grins and sympathetic pats on the back from his family. His countless showers to relieve the ache had only given him temporary respite. He couldn’t think straight or concentrate for any length of time. He’d been snappy, maudlin and impatient with everything and everybody. He _had_ to pull himself together. He knew he couldn’t be the one to set the pace here, it had to be Jared in control, Jared dictating every step.

“…Jensen, _Jensen_! Are you even listening to me?”

“Sam, sorry, I…”

She shook her head. “Just take the tray.”

Finally, the tray! “Yes, Sam, thank you.” He took it from her. The damn thing was heavier than he’d expected. There had to be enough food on there to feed three men, let alone one, then there was a pot of coffee, fresh OJ. Getting it upstairs, whilst balancing the rattling crockery, was difficult enough but he was at a loss when he finally made it to Jared’s door. He couldn’t open it, couldn’t actually knock, he had to settle for kicking it a couple of times and hoping Jared heard him.

To his relief the handle turned, the door opening to reveal Jared on the other side dressed in worn black jeans and a black t-shirt that emphasised his trim waist and broad, muscular shoulders.

“Jensen, erm…” He started to reach for the tray and then clearly thought better of it. “Come on in,” he invited; stepping back and opening the door widely.

Jensen went in, looking for a spot to put the tray before stopping in his tracks as Jared dashed over to the bed, throwing the bedding back over it.

“Sorry,” he blushed. “Sick bed, y’know? It erm…” He waved his hands dismissively.

“It’s fine,” Jensen assured him. “Where would you like the tray?” As he watched Jared look around he realised that this was probably the last place Jared wanted to sit and eat. He’d been stuck in here long enough. “You don’t have to eat in here if you don’t want to.”

“You don’t mind?”

“Not at all. How about… Do you want to go upstairs, see my place?” He mentally kicked himself, so much for letting Jared lead.

Jared cocked his head. “ _Your_ place?”

“I have the top floor,” he told him, “If you’re up for a walk and a few steps.”

Jared’s eyes widened and Jensen was sure he was going to refuse, but then he nodded. “Okay, I’m up for it. Do you want me to take the tray?”

“No, you’re fine,” he lied. “We’ll go out to the balcony. Turn right until you reach the stairs then go up. You’ll have to get the doors.”

 

 

Jared felt the walk up the stairs, nothing painful, just the tight pull of muscles in his legs but it was good to be out of that room, moving. He couldn’t prevent a feeling of… What was it? Trepidation, apprehension perhaps at seeing Jensen, he wasn’t sure, but there was a feeling; something odd, a quivering in his belly that was as much pleasant as it was uncomfortable. There was a wide balcony on the top floor, wider than the one that fronted his room. He opened the large windowed door and let Jensen precede him inside.

It was all one enormous room. The wall that faced the front of the house was built of soft, golden stone with a massive fireplace built into it; the rest was wooden pillars, beams and glass. There was a bathroom to the right, and what looked like a huge walk in wardrobe. The remainder was both bedroom and living space. It contained an enormous wooden bed, that looked like it might have been hand made. The rest was a scattering of soft couches, a table, chairs, an untidy looking desk and a massive wide screen TV.

“Wow!” Jared raised his eyebrows. “This is really something. You sure it’s big enough?”

Jensen laughed, moving to place the tray on the table. “I guess I like my space.” He pointed to the tray, “Sit,” he invited, “Eat.”

He didn’t need to be asked twice, he was famished and the food looked great. He was about to dig in when he realised Jensen was just standing there. “Are you planning on sitting down?”

“Sorry,” he rubbed at the back of his neck. “I didn’t know if…”

Jared sighed. “Just sit Jensen, okay?”

“I hope that’s still hot,” Jensen said as he sat down opposite.

He nodded, chewing on a mouthful of toast. “Perfect. You could share some,” he offered. “There’s more than enough.”

“I’m good, I had breakfast earlier. I can go find something to do if you want to eat in peace,” he offered.

“No I…” Jared frowned. “I know that I’ve been well cared for while I was getting better and that there was always someone with me but… I feel like I’ve been alone, I guess.”

Jensen nodded. “I get that. Now will you eat, you must be famished and you need the calories.”

Jared gave the food his attention, trying not to bolt it down in case he made himself sick. While he ate Jensen gave him a run-down of what had been happening while he was out of it. It was trivial stuff, bits and pieces about what the others had been up to. Idle chatter clearly wasn’t something Jensen found particularly easy but Jared was interested and after a while Jensen just went with the flow. Jensen was easy company, considering. He asked questions and laughed in all the right places. He had a good laugh, it lit up his face, brought out the creases at the corners of his eyes that, for some reason, fascinated Jared. Despite claiming he wasn’t hungry, he noticed Jensen habitually reaching over to liberate something from Jared’s plate as he determinedly worked his way through it.

The food was delicious, and Jared found he was enjoying Jensen’s company. The man could be funny when he tried. He had a sharp sense of humour that kept him laughing. He’d never really just chatted with Jensen before, never seen him this relaxed and he kinda liked it. Jensen clearly knew a lot about a lot of things; especially sports, and the chances of the Spurs doing well this year soon dominated the conversation. It should have commanded his full attention, but…

There was that smell. He’d just caught a hint of it at first but it was slowly getting stronger. It was a warm smell, like a summer day but there was more to it; something underneath that was spicy and exotic. It was making his cock harden in his pants and he couldn’t get enough of it. He would have rolled in it if he could.

“Jared? Jared! You okay?”

“What?” Jensen had been speaking to him, he realised and he hadn’t heard a word.

“You’re not eating. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I erm…” He wasn’t sure what to say. “I just…” He attempted. “Can you smell something?”

“What, besides the food and you?”

He put down his knife and fork. “You can smell me?”

“I can scent you yes, of course. You haven’t used conditioner on your hair this morning but you used mint shower gel and mint mouth wash. You used a chemical antiperspirant with hints of aloe. Above all else I can smell you, your natural scent, so much so that I could pick you out blindfold from a crowd of people.”

“Really?”

Jensen nodded.

“Is that what I’m scenting,” he asked, using the word Jensen had used rather than smell.

“With practice you’ll be able to differentiate between natural and chemical scents but they aren’t what you’re picking out now. The overwhelming scent is something you’ve smelled before, isn’t it?”

Jared nodded. It was familiar, just stronger than it had ever been before, it… “It’s you,” he realised. “How are you doing that?”

“I’m not _doing_ anything. You’re changing Jared. Your senses are becoming more acute, tuned in to everything around you. Your vision is going to change, sharpen whenever you need it, the same with your hearing, it’ll be as powerful as your sense of smell and that’s only just beginning to develop. You’ll be able to identify people by their scent alone and you’ll pick up on scents like pain, threat, arousal and desire.”

Jared did his best not to gulp. “You – you can tell when someone’s…”

Jensen gave him a smile that _almost_ looked apologetic. “It’s nothing you should worry about, nothing unusual or embarrassing for us. It’s going to happen gradually enough and you’ll soon get used to it, it will become second nature after a while. The most difficult things you’ll have to cope with are the changes in your body; things like increased strength and agility. You’ll have to learn to control those things. My birth father explained a lot of it to me. It can take a toll on you for a while as your body changes; muscle aches as you grow stronger, cramps as you change internally and your organs become more efficient. He said he felt tired a lot of the time, slept through a lot of it. He told me…”

“What?” Jared asked when Jensen trailed off.

“It’s probably not something you’re going to want to hear.”

Jared sighed. “I don’t doubt it, but the reality is that this is happening to me, like it or not, so you need to be straight with me.”

“Okay,” Jensen nodded. “He told me that being in close physical contact with his alpha, my father, was the thing that helped the most.”

Jared licked at suddenly dry lips, his eyes unable to meet Jensen’s; his alpha’s, he realised. He pushed his plate away, scrubbing his hands over his face before combing his fingers through his hair, unsure what to say.

“I know how…” Jensen began. “No, fuck! I don’t know how difficult this must be to you. Even if I’d asked my birth father a hundred thousand questions I still don’t think I’d come anywhere near to understanding what you’re going through, what you’re feeling, but…” He hesitated again and Jared saw him swallow nervously. “Wherever I am, whenever you feel you need it- me – to help, even if you just want to punch me in the face, I’m here.”

Jared got up from the table and moved over to the windows, looking out but not really seeing anything. To his relief Jensen didn’t follow him. He remained sat at the table but Jared could feel his eyes, knew he’d see genuine concern there if he looked.

“I need to resign from my job,” he said quietly. “That’s if they’ve not already fired me and I need some kind of explanation to give my family. I guess I need to clear out my apartment too.”

“The job isn’t an issue. You’re part of this family too now. That makes you a partner in all AA’s businesses. If you want to work in one of them then we can look into that in depth. I think Tom’s been looking at a few things for you, if you want to be an active partner.”

“I’m an accountant, Jensen. Your companies must have more than their fair share of those.”

“We do but we also support a number of charities, established and up and coming, where your help would be welcome. Talk to Tom about it, see where you’d like to fit in, if you’re interested.”

Jared nodded, not discounting the idea. “I’ll speak to him. There’s still my family, my momma must be out of her mind. What the hell do I say to her about where I’ve been, why I haven’t been in contact?”

“You _were_ in a car accident,” Jensen offered. “And didn’t you tell her you were staying with a friend? You might even want to consider telling your family the truth, it could be easier in the long run.”

Jared gave him a wide-eyed stare. “How the fuck could that _ever_ be easier?”

“They’re your family. I don’t doubt for a minute that they love you unconditionally.”

Jared thought about it. Unconditional wasn’t really a word he could apply to his momma’s version of love. “If I did, it’s something I’d have to do face to face.”

“Of course it is. I’d even go with you if you wanted me to, but…”

He snorted out a bitter laugh. “There’s a but, right?”

“There is, and this one’s a big one. You couldn’t safely leave here until after the next full moon, when your body has finished changing.”

“Fuck!”

He closed his eyes. He had no doubts that Jensen was telling the truth but that didn’t make things any easier. A thousand thoughts seemed to crash through his mind but he didn’t have any real answers.

“If I tell her that I’ve been hurt in a car accident, that I’m staying with you but can’t come home yet, she’ll want to come here. She’ll be worried, she’ll want to see for herself.”

“I don’t really see a problem with that,” Jensen told him.

Jared spun around. “You don’t see a _problem_?”

Jensen got to his feet and walked over to join him at the window. “All your mom will see are people; people who care about you, friends. She won’t see what we are, if that’s what’s worrying you. We did some research on you when we became aware that you could be the omega. It turned out that we had no reason to worry, I didn’t have to move anyone into the area to keep an eye on you or your family, I just had to make a few phone calls. The Robinson family, you know them, right?”

“Sure, they moved in next door a couple of years ago.”

“Mr and Mrs Vitali at the ‘Wine and Dine Café’, you know them?”

“My momma’s favourite restaurant,” he admitted.

“They’re Lupe´, as are the Cranshaws, the Cortese family, the Allens, the local police chief. I’m thinking your mom’s never thought them odd, different?”

“No, but…”

“What about your brother’s best friend, Marcus?”

Jared grinned. “I guess that explains why Marcus kicks Jeff’s ass with the whole running thing they’ve got going on.”

“So, your mom maybe _could_ come visit if you wanted her to.”

He still wasn’t sure. It was a great idea in theory but he knew she’d freak out when he told her he’d be staying here for a while, and if he told her about the accident. He sighed. “I-I guess, yeah.”

“And you’re not actually going to be feeling all that great, you’re going to have to deal with more than your fair share of aches and pains while your body is changing. All your mom’s gonna see is you recovering from an accident and Jason will be here to explain how you’re doing with that.”

“You make it sound simple but momma, she can be…” He hesitated, “She can be difficult, set in her ways…”

“She’ll be fine Jared. Trust me, simple works best. If you over complicate things, then you’re asking for trouble.”

Jared wasn’t too sure of that. He loved his momma, he couldn’t deny that, but she’d changed a lot over the last few years. There were times when he could barely recognise the mom from his youth.

A hand came to rest on his shoulder, the touch was warm and seemed to make his whole-body tingle. All thoughts of his momma vanished at that touch and a sigh of pleasure escaped him before he could stop it.

“Jared?” Jensen’s voice was gentle, clearly concerned.

He didn’t turn around, couldn’t. “I don’t know what I’m feeling. Everything…” He shook his head. It was all so overwhelming, and he just didn’t have the words to explain.

“Hey,” Jensen said softly, his hand moving up to gently massage the corded muscle that had formed at the back of his neck. “It will be okay, Jared. I promise you.” The touch felt so good and Jared couldn’t stop himself from turning around, moving into the arms that had opened for him. “Let me take care of you,” Jensen whispered softly into his ear.

Jensen hadn’t expected Jared to do be so compliant. He could feel his still limbs begin to soften as he held him close, heard his heart beat slowly calming. It felt like a gift. After a while he heard Jared sigh.

“Sorry, Jensen, really, I…”

“You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“I-I should probably call my momma.”

“That can wait. Come and sit with me for a while. It will help, I promise. I can sense your emotions and you’ll soon be able to sense mine. If I’m angry, frustrated by my day, you’ll know and you’ll be able to help me relax. I can do the same for you.”

Jared looked up at him, a smile forming on his lips. “You do realise that could be a full time job for you, right?”

He took Jared’s hand, pleased when the resistance was only momentary, and led him over to the huge couch that faced the floor to ceiling window. “Best seat in the house, apart from the roof.”

“The roof?” Jared’s eyebrow arched in question.

“Yeah, it’s really something, but we’ll save that for when you’re a little more surefooted.”

“That’s probably a good idea. I’m happy enough sitting here. I love the views from this house.”

“See the clouds rolling in over there?” Jensen pointed.

“Is it going to rain?”

Jensen smiled. “Close your eyes for a minute and focus on what you can hear.”

Jared glanced at him, a frown on his face but he did what he’d asked.

“Pick out the sounds, one at a time, tell me what you can hear.”

Jared kept his eyes closed. “Someone playing a guitar,” he said, quietly.

“That would be Kane in his room at the other side of the house. Keep listening.”

“Birds, the wind.”

“Concentrate on the background, the fainter sounds.”

“There’s something… A heavy sound.” Jared’s expression was intense, focused. “It starts quietly and gets louder, deeper before it fades. A rolling sound. Is it thunder?”

“It is. Now, open your eyes and relax, that’s it. Can you still hear those sounds?”

“No.” He frowned.

“You extended your hearing. It’s something to practice when it’s quiet and you’re alone but I have to say that was pretty impressive for a first try. Just go with it, the more you practice the easier it gets.”

“Doesn’t it all get overwhelming?”

“No. You’re the one in charge of your mind and body, Jared. Everything will come naturally, centuries of evolution have made you the way you are, I just flipped the switch. My bite, the addition of my DNA just turned on those things that lay dormant inside of you.”

“You make it all sound so simple.”

“Not everything will be that easy,” Jensen admitted. “Like I said, any time you want to punch me in the face you can, and knowing you, you probably will.”

Jared grinned. He’d always been kind of fiery, particularly in his early teens. He’d never been one to back away from an argument or a fight when he knew – or at least thought – he was in the right. Physically, he’d calmed down an awful lot since then but his mind and his mouth had taken over from his fists. There were occasions when he’d said and done things he was less than proud of, things he deeply regretted and he didn’t want…

“I have a temper,” he admitted to Jensen.

“No shit, _really_?” Jensen laughed.

Jared looked across at him. “You picked up on that, huh?” He grinned at Jensen, but his thoughts became more serious. “I’ve always been pretty quick to fly off the handle, even as a kid. I put my folks through a lot of shit they really didn’t deserve. I love my family, they’re great, always there for me and I’ve done my best to always be there for them. I have friends, well kinda.” He sighed. “No one close though, I’ve never been all that good at the buddy stuff. It’s the same with relationships, I’ve never been particularly good at those either. I’ve known some great, beautiful women and… Hell, I’ve tried but I just haven’t felt involved or committed to any of them. Even the sex, it’s just…” He stopped, face flushed with embarrassment. “Sorry,” he said softly, avoiding Jensen’s eyes. “I don’t know why I’m laying all this on you. It’s not something I do – ever!” The laugh he was going for failed dismally.

“Hey!” Jensen placed a hand on his cheek, gently forcing Jared to face him. “You can tell me anything you like Jared but I have a question for _you_.”

“Ask away,” he invited.

“Okay, answer me this; knowing what you know now does it really seem all that unusual that you had trouble fitting in, that it frustrated you? You felt different because you _are_ different.”

“You think it’s that simple?” His eyes darted to Jensen’s.

“Yeah, I do.” A look of sadness clouded Jensen’s face. “I wish I could have found you earlier, helped you to understand all this, but I couldn’t, not until you were ready.” He stroked a gentle hand over Jared’s hair. “Things will be better Jared. I promise you.”

__________________

 

Jared woke slowly, comfortable and content enough to not immediately open his eyes. It would have been easy enough to allow himself to drift off again but he had a feeling he’d been asleep for quite a while. He felt gentle fingers move over his brow, combing the hair away from his face and tucking it behind his ear. He became aware of a hard but yielding body beneath him, breathing slow and easy. He could hear something, not too loud but a steady drumming sound. Curiosity made him open his eyes.

“It’s raining.” He realised.

“Has been for the last hour or so.”

Jensen. He was sprawled half on top of Jensen. He couldn’t even remember falling asleep.

“Shit man, I’m sorry.” He dragged himself up to a sitting position, an embarrassed blush heating his face. “How long have I been asleep?”

Jensen shrugged. “About three hours or so.”

“Fuck! Sorry, I…”

“Don’t worry about it, it’s not like I stayed awake. I think the rain woke me, we’ve caught the tail end of that storm you heard earlier.”

He combed his fingers back through his hair and attempted to sit up a little. “Still I…”

“Jared, stop apologising. It’s _fine_ and I’m guessing you’re feeling a lot better.”

“Actually, yeah, I am,” he admitted. “Kinda hungry. How long have we been here?”

“Does it matter?” Jensen sat up, stretching out his arms and legs like a huge cat. “Why don’t you freshen up in the bathroom over there?” He pointed to the far corner of the room. “Then I’ll do the same and we can go downstairs, see if there’s any food ready.”

“Sounds like a good idea.”

Washing his face brought Jared ‘round a little more. He had a slight case of bed hair but that was nothing new. He really did feel good, better than he had in quite a while and it didn’t feel like something that could be explained away by anything as simple as a nap, but he didn’t want to think about that too closely, not right now.

He walked out of the bathroom to the sight of Jensen bare chested, white t-shirt in hand and found he couldn’t look away. His mind flashed back to the night he’d followed the water trail from the swimming pool and saw Jensen for the first time.  He’d jacked off in the shower with that image in mind and even now his cock was hardening in his jeans.

Jensen grinned at him, holding up his t-shirt for Jared to see. “Man, you drooled all over me.” He laughed. “Give me a minute and we’ll go get something to eat.”

“Err, yeah, sure. Take your time, I’ll just…” He looked around the room desperately looking for something he could do but Jensen had already disappeared into the bathroom.

“Fuck!” He was as hard as nails. He considered stepping out onto the balcony and standing in the rain in the vain hope that it would cool him down, ease the ache of his erection but how the hell would that look? Crazy, that’s what it would look like and Jensen had already told him that he could scent arousal, so what was the fucking point? He’d been wrapped around the guy for hours, drooled over him, apparently and in a few weeks’ time Jensen was going to…

He couldn’t go there, couldn’t imagine… Except that wasn’t exactly true. He’d been out on a stag night with the guys a while ago and ended up back at Eric’s place playing a booze fuelled game of truth or dare. Someone had asked the question; has anything ever been up your ass, at Brian, former college quarter back and all round tough guy, Brian. He’d told them about one of his old girlfriends fucking him with a strap-on and admitted that after a few awkward and pretty painful starts she’d hit the spot and he’d come like a damn freight train It had piqued Jared’s curiosity, he had to admit. Not to the extent that he wanted a girlfriend to stick a plastic dick up his ass but enough for him to squat on his bed and ease a finger and about half a bottle of lube up there. The whole thing had been messy and gross enough for him to never consider trying it again.

Jensen though.

Jensen was easy on the eye, he had to admit, and things had kinda smoothed out between them. He was surprisingly good to talk to, far more easy-going than Jared had first thought and he was starting to like the guy, maybe he was…

“Hey!” Jensen came out of the bathroom and pulled Jared out of his thoughts. “You ready to eat?” He asked as he shrugged on a clean shirt.

Jared nodded. “Starved, man.”

Jensen looked out of the window at the pouring rain. “Back stairs I’m thinking.”

 

There was a card game going on downstairs and the two of them grabbed a plate of sandwiches before joining the others, well some of them at any rate; Chris and Kim had gone to somewhere called Echo Falls and Aldis had returned to Texas. To Jared’s delight, they were playing for Gummy Bears and Tom was cleaning up. Not for long though, not when there were Gummy Bears up for grabs.

“So,” Jensen asked him, after he’d taken the third pot in a row. “Where did you learn to play like this?”

“Clearly he’s cheating,” Tom insisted. “I just don’t know how.”

“Poor baby.” Adrianne pouted at him. “He’s not used to losing,” she told Jared, clearly fighting to hide a smile.

Kane laughed. “Do you play a lot, Jared?”

“Not anymore, but I used to play a lot in high school.”

“High school.” Kane shook his head. “A good ole Texas boy was a high school card shark?”

“Kinda,” he admitted. “I was crazy for bikes and my folks refused to buy me one, said they were too dangerous. I saved Christmas money, birthday money, worked at the diner in town, did odd jobs, anything I could get but I still didn’t have enough so I started playing cards for lunch money. It took me a while but I managed to make enough.”

“You got your bike?” Jason asked him.

“Yeah, she was all mine for about two hours. My momma got home from work, took one look at it and made me take it straight back. Then the bastard who sold it to me refused to give me back what I paid for it, the fucker.” He shook his head. “I kept working though, saving and playing cards until I had enough to buy myself a car for college. I’m pretty good with anything that involves numbers.”

“Hence the accounting?” Tom asked him.

Jared nodded. “Hence the accounting.”

“Sometime tomorrow we’ll have a chat about that. I have a few ideas I’d like to run by you, see if any of them take your fancy.”

“Well,” Chad sighed. “I’ve lost my gummy bear stash and the weather’s still pretty shit outside so what do we wanna do now?”

“Maybe a movie?” Jensen suggested.

“I’m up for that,” Jason agreed. “As long as you don’t get to choose the movie. He either picks a bad comedy, French shit or a kid’s film,” he explained to Jared.

“I have good taste in movies!” Jensen protested.

Sam leaned over and patted Jensen’s arm. “As long as you don’t inflict them on the rest of us, honey.”

Even Jared couldn’t hold in a hoot of laughter.

“ _Et tu, Samantha_?” Jensen stared at Sam with an affronted expression.

“See!” Jason grinned. “French shit!”

“Shakespeare actually,” Tom added.

“Oh!” Adrianne went wide eyed. “We could watch Shakespeare in Love!”

“No, no and _no_!” Kane told her. “And before you even suggest it, _Thomas_ , we’re not watching any of his plays either!”

“But!”

Kane held up a hand to silence Tom before turning to Jared. “Let me give you the highlights; Tom was an actor back in the day, he’s going to tell you all about his successful Shakespearean roles but as the rest of us have been hearing it for fucking _ever…!_

“You know, Jared just might be interested,” Tom bit back. “Not everyone’s a philistine, some of us find that sort of thing fascinating.”

Adrianne reached over to stroke her fingers over Tom’s cheek. “Of course we do, baby. So Jared,” she gave him that thousand megawatt smile of hers. “What kind of movies do you like?”

Jared was still pretty interested in the news that Tom had once been an actor and he made a mental note to ask him about it later.  “Erm… Action stuff, I guess or a good thriller.” He wasn’t that much of movie fan to be honest.

They eventually settled in to watch a spy flick starring Adam Hale, the latest action hero, who Sam, of all people, had a giant crush on. She took the teasing from the others in her stride. It was a good film, despite the heckling. Jared just settled in on the couch beside Jensen and enjoyed it.

The rain and storms had moved away over night and Jared woke to bright sunshine. There was a neat pile of clothes on his dresser. They still had the tags on and everything from underwear to jeans were his size. His own two sets of clothing, that he’d used for his trip to the clinic, were now down to one after the accident so he figured these must be for him. After showering he slipped on a pair of cargo shorts and a Henley before making his way downstairs.

His phone had been destroyed in the accident so he had to borrow one today; get in contact with work and talk to his momma. It wasn’t something he was particularly looking forward to but he knew it had to be his priority after breakfast.

To his surprise the place was virtually deserted. Tom was sat at the kitchen island and Jason, surprisingly, was working on breakfast.

“Morning,” he greeted them. “Where is everyone?”

“Shopping trip to the city,” Tom told him. “Jensen’s working in his office. The others should be back early evening. According to Adrianne and Sam we’re short of essentials, whatever that means.”

“Speaking of essentials; there were clothes in my room this morning.” Jared indicated his outfit.

“From the store in Manning Flatts.” Jason explained. “Sam picked them up for you.”

“She got you a phone too,” Tom told him as Jared took his seat.  “It’s over there, Jensen put it in on the charger, it should be good to go now.”

“That’s great. I’ll take a look after breakfast.”

“I do bacon, eggs and toast,” Jason told him. “Anything beyond that you do yourself.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Is there juice and coffee?” Jensen’s voice, from right behind Jared, startled him.

Jason waved the spatula menacingly. “You know I’m not Sam, right?”

“The beard, hair and tattoos gave it away,” Jensen deadpanned. “So, coffee?”

“In the pot, juice is in the fridge.”

“I’ll get it,” Jared told them.

Breakfast was pretty good. Jason did the bacon good and crispy, just the way he preferred it and the eggs were runny enough to need extra toast to mop up all of the yolk. Jared was pleasantly full by the time he’d finished. He turned on his stool to look across the room to where his new phone was charging. He had to make those phone calls but he really wasn’t looking forward to it. Work would be bad enough but, his momma… What the fuck was he supposed to say to her?

“You okay?” Jensen’s hand squeezed his shoulder.

“I just… I need to see if I’ve still got a job, talk to my momma.”

“It’ll be fine Jared.”

“Easy for you to say. She’s gonna freak out,”

“No, she’s probably doing that right now, you _need_ to call her.”

He nodded, slowly. He knew Jensen was right. “You sure it’s okay for her to come here?”

“Absolutely. Arrange a day and I’ll have Chad fly down and collect her from the airport. Sam can go with him, keep your mom company on the flight back.

His momma on a private jet, that would really be something for her to share with her friends.

He nodded, pulling in a deep breath before strolling over to the table and unplugging the new phone. He decided to go outside and sit by the pool to muster his thoughts before making the calls.

Work was first and turned out to be easier than he expected. He was fired. His manager, Keith, even brought up the length of his hair during his five-minute rant. Jared couldn’t hold in his laughter. There was a certain satisfaction in telling the little prick to go fuck himself.

The second call wasn’t so easy to make, He almost called his brother instead, but he couldn’t do it. Even though he knew she’d be less than happy, she had to be worried about him.

“Momma?”

“Jared! Oh, thank the Lord! Where are you baby? We haven’t heard from you. I tried to call you and Mr Prentiss from your office called…”

“I know. I know and I’m _so_ sorry. On the way back from the clinic I met up with an old friend and decided to stay with him in Montana for a couple of days but then…” He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “I borrowed a truck and I had an accident, wrecked it, banged myself up…”

“Oh Lord!” He heard his momma pull in a frightened breath. “Are you in the hospital? Are you badly hurt?”

“I’m doing okay. One of my friend’s house mates is a doctor, he’s been great. I’m not all right yet but I’m getting there, I promise.”

“Oh Jared, are you _sure_? We can work something out, get you back home…”

“I can’t really travel momma, not yet. Maybe in a couple of months…”

“Months!”

“Hey, _hey_. Calm down. It’s not as bad as it sounds, I promise.”

“But Jared!”

“I know, and I know you’re worried and you want to see me. Listen, Jensen, he’s the friend I’m staying with, he’s invited you up here to stay for a few days.”

“To _Montana_?”

“Don’t start panicking about how you’re going to get here, that’s all been arranged.”

“Arranged? But how?”

“A flight from San Antonio. I was thinking maybe Wednesday, if that’s good for you.”

“It’s short notice, baby. I’d have to arrange flights, hotels and everything.”

“You don’t have to do _anything_ momma, don’t worry. They’ll be someone waiting for you at the airport to fly you up here.”

“Wait a minute… Fly me up there, you mean…”

“It’s a private plane momma.”

“Oh!” For once she seemed lost for words.

“Momma?”

“Are you sure this is okay Jared?”

“It’s absolutely fine.”

“And you? You _are_ okay, aren’t you?”

“I am, I promise. I just have a few aches and pains and I need plenty of rest, that’s why I can’t come home just yet.”

“And this friend of yours, Jensen is it? Is he okay with me visiting?”

“Absolutely.” It took another thirty minutes or so to convince his momma he wasn’t on the danger list and she didn’t have to book a flight to Montana today. He tried not to lie to her and he hadn’t, not really. The fact that he was likely to be living up here pretty much indefinitely was something he was happy to leave for another time. She was calm enough by the end of their conversation, much less worried than she had been.

Even so, Jared felt pretty wrung out by the time they ended the call. Shaky by the time he levered himself out of the lounge chair to go back inside. He paused for a minute, dizzy and he thought that maybe he should sit down again but the chair seemed to be oddly out of reach, everything was moving, tilting.

“Jared?” A strong arm wrapped around his waist, holding him steady. It was Jensen and he tried to get the words out to thank him but the next thing he knew he was doubled over, stomach cramping violently as he brought back his breakfast.

“Oh sh-shit, I-I’m so sorry, I…”

“You’re okay,” Jensen told him. “Let’s get you inside and cleaned up.”

He was aware of someone else supporting him; Jason he realised, as he clung on to them both for all he was worth. One minute he was outside and the next he was in. Everything was confusing, his surroundings seemed to be drifting in and out of focus. The next thing he knew he was in a bathroom, and there was water filling the tub.  Not his tub, not his bathroom, there was too much pink.

 

“Jared, pay attention. I need you to sit, right on the edge here.” It was Jensen’s voice, quiet and calm, like always. “Right there, that’s it – just don’t lean back.”

Gentle fingers latched onto the bottom of his Henley, carefully pulling it off and then using it to wipe over his face and hair.

“We’re doing good here but now I need you to stand up again, okay? Take your time, I got you.”

The spinning started again. It was like his head wasn’t on straight or maybe it was just heavier than the rest of him.

“Am I... M-my head on right?”

He heard a deep chuckle. “Still attached. Need to get you out of these board shorts now, okay?”

 He felt them being tugged down, taking his underwear with them and made an attempt to grab them that had him staggering to one side.

“Whoa there! You need to let me do this Jared. We’re almost there, we just need to step into the tub, so hold on to me.” Strong arms wrapped around him pulling him close. “We need to take a big step into the tub, ready? _Now_. I’ve got you, that’s it and now you’re gonna sit, slow as you can. I’m right here.”

“Dizzy,” Jared tried to explain.

“I know, man, it’s okay. Down we go now, I gotcha. _Oo_ kay, bit of a tidal wave there but never mind. You okay Jared?”

“Why does it keep spinning?” He wanted to know.

“If you lean back, that should help.”

He did as he was told and felt a firm body at his back, that same strong arm from before around his waist. Maybe it was Jeff, he couldn’t remember getting drunk but… No, it wasn’t Jeff, Jeff was home wasn’t he?

“That’s right, just relax and let’s get you cleaned up.”

“Jensen?” He frowned. “You’re not Jeff. Why are you in the tub with me?”

“It could be because you vomited all over yourself and you’re too dizzy to be in here on your own or stand in the shower.”

That kinda made sense. Something else occurred to him. “I can feel your cock.”

A huff of laughter exploded from Jensen. “Trust me, _so_ can I!”

“You know that’s naughty, don’t you?” Jared smiled.

“Yes, I do. I also know you have vomit in your hair, so lay your head back so I can wash it out.”

It didn’t take long for Jared to relax completely in the bathtub, so Jensen took his time washing his hair, those broad muscular shoulders, perfect chest and endlessly long arms, enjoying the younger man’s contented sighs. Most of the vomit had gone on the decking, some on his clothes and in his hair, but it cleaned off easily enough. Jensen would have been content to stay, wrapped around Jared, until the water went cold, but he knew he couldn’t do that. Above all else he needed Jared to trust him.

“How are you feeling?” He asked cautiously. “Still dizzy?”

“I erm… Okay, I think.”

“Okay. What say we get out of here? If you lean forward, I’ll get out first and then I can give you a hand if you need it.”

“I…” Jared hesitated. “Sorry about all this.”

“No need to be sorry. I’m guessing that this was brought on by those changes in you we were talking about and not the breakfast. Let Jason take a look at you anyway.” He squeezed Jared’s shoulder before standing up and climbing out of the bath.

“Think you can stand on your own?”

Jared nodded. “Think so.”

He got out carefully, more than a little uncertain but he didn’t seem as dizzy and out of it as he had been earlier.

“Okay?” Jensen asked.

Jared nodded.

“Okay then. Grab onto my hand if you need to, the floor’s pretty wet from the tidal wave we caused earlier. Jared did just that, looking around the large bathroom curiously.

“We’re in Sam’s apartment,” Jensen explained, handing Jared a large pink towel. “It was the closest one on the ground floor.”

Jared grimaced. “Do you think she’ll have a spare toothbrush? My mouth tastes like ass.”

Jensen laughed. “Probably, but I’m not going through her things to find one. I’ll run up and get yours and I’ll bring you some clothes.”

“Thanks Jensen.”

“No problem, be back in a minute.” He made for the door.

“Hey!” Jared stopped him in his tracks. “Don’t you want to wrap a towel around you or something?”

He grinned. “If they’re jealous, they’re jealous. Be right back.”

 

 ______________________________________

 

“How is he?” Jensen asked Jason as he joined him and Tom out on the deck.

“Out for the count,” he told him, stretching out on the chair. “He’s got a headache and his legs have started to hurt him, so I’ve given him some painkillers.”

“The change has started then?” Tom asked.

“Definitely. It’s gonna be a rough time for the kid but I can help with some of that. The most important thing is that he stays in close contact with you,” he told Jensen. “A couple of hours a day, minimum. It’ll help more than anything I can give him.”

“He’s clearly more comfortable around you now, so that should help,” Tom added. “Though the visit from his mother could be a problem.”

“What about getting him to sleep with you?” Jason asked him. “If you explain things to him he might be okay with it.”

Jensen nodded. “I’ll talk to him about it. I remember my dad telling me that he and the Alpha were sequestered through the majority of _his_ change.”

“You don’t want to do that, surely?” Tom asked him.

“No, that was in another time. We’ve changed since then and so has humanity, from conversations with my dad I know he was a very different omega from Jared. Even if he were willing, which I doubt, I think the isolation would drive him nuts and I don’t want things between us to go back to how they were before.”

“ _I_ could suggest he sleep with you,” Jason offered.

Jensen thought about it. He knew the idea might seem more palatable to Jared, coming from Jason, but it didn’t make him feel any better. He thought about saying no, saying he’d suggest it but he didn’t want to be the cause of any more stress than Jared was already dealing with, if he could help it.

 

It was mid afternoon when Jared woke up and he felt ten times better than he had earlier. He went to the bathroom and stared into the mirror, rubbing a hand over his chin before deciding a shave would be in order. He’d been kinda lazy with the whole shaving thing since he’d been here, he’d even pondered growing his beard, but with his momma coming up to see him he decided against it. She’d always preferred him clean shaven and he needed to do all he could to keep her in a good mood during her stay here. He knew she wouldn’t leave here entirely happy; she liked her children to be fairly close at hand. If he could just… Just what exactly? He didn’t _have_ any fucking answers.

He had to convince her that he was happy here, that his new life was something he really wanted. The crazy thing was that if he could actually let go of all this crazy alien, mating shit it could be. Well kinda. He sighed. The whole thing with Jensen was way more complicated than it should be, it just confused everything. The truth was he liked living here, he liked these people and he knew for a fact that every single one of them liked him right back. They cared, and they’d do anything for him.

Back home, he’d had what he called friends, but the truth was that they were little more than casual acquaintances really. They weren’t close to him and he wasn’t close to them, either. Not a single one of them had called him or sent a text, other than those first ones about nights out, since he’d been here. To be honest, even though he’d recovered pretty much everything and managed to keep the number from his old phone, he hadn’t thought about getting in touch with a single one of them. He’d known most of them since high school, but they were drinking buddies, nothing more than that. Maybe that was his fault. Maybe he _had_ always been different.

“You’re a miserable bastard, Padalecki,” he told his reflection.

 

He made his way downstairs once he’d freshened up, the sound of conversation drifting up from beside the pool. That was where he found Tom, Jason and Jensen.

“Good timing,” Jason told him, getting up. “If you’re feeling up to it, we were just about to eat.”

“I can always eat,” he admitted.

Jason grinned. “It hasn’t gone unnoticed. Sandwiches okay for you?”

“Fine, yeah. Need a hand?” he offered.

“No, they just need to be brought out. Sit down, soak up the sun and take it easy.”

Jared wasn’t about to argue with the man. It _was_ a gorgeous afternoon.

“Feeling better?” Tom asked him as he took a seat.

“Yeah, I feel fine now. This kind of thing’s gonna keep happening though, right?”

Jensen nodded. “’Fraid so, the changes will keep happening until the next full moon but not every day will be bad. Some you’ll be able to ride out the way you would a headache,” he explained. “Others won’t be so easy but we can help you with those.”

“If you want a spot of distraction you can start to familiarise yourself with the charitable accounts,” Tom told him. “You can work on some of the auditing, if you’d like.”

Jared nodded, eagerly. “That sounds good, thanks.”

“ _Accounting_ sounds good?” Jensen smiled, eyebrow raised in question.

He nodded. “I like having something to do.”

“Fair enough.”

Jason emerged with a couple of plates of sandwiches. “Going back to helping you cope with your physical changes, there are a couple of things we should talk about, especially with your mom being here Jared.”

“Okay,” he invited.

“Being close to Jensen is going to make it a whole lot easier for you. You share his DNA which, in simple terms, means the two of you are linked. It’s a bond that’s gonna grow and the link it gives you will make things easier, especially when you’re in close proximity.”

“So I need to be near Jensen as much as possible?”

“Yeah, you do and with your mom coming…”

Jared frowned. “That’s going to seem odd to her.”

“That’s what I figured,” Jason told him. “So, my advice would be that you start sleeping together.”

“ _What_?”

“What Jason’s suggesting is that you share my bed,” Jensen explained, quickly. “It’s more than big enough for the two of us. While we sleep our bodies will be in close proximity and that should go a long way towards easing your changes.”

“Just sharing your bed?” Jared wanted clarification.

Jensen nodded. “I figure if you go up to your own room, as normal, while your mom’s here, then come up to mine to sleep. That way she won’t know any different.”

It was a sensible idea, Jared had to admit, and he did feel better when he was near Jensen.

“Okay,” he nodded. “It makes sense.”

“We can put your mum in a guest room at the other side of the house,” Tom suggested. “Near Sam’s suite, that way…”

“Look,” Jared sighed. “Maybe it would be easier if she just didn’t come. I mean…”

“You want to see her, don’t you?” Jensen asked him.

“Yeah, of course I do! It’s just… this whole damn thing is so complicated right now. Maybe we should wait until I’m okay?” Even as he said it, he knew that it was the wrong thing to say, that it wouldn’t be fair to his momma. She was already worried about him and if he put things off…

“It wouldn’t be fair to either of you,” Jensen insisted. “Family is important, Jared. You’ve gained one in us but that doesn’t mean that you should avoid your birth family.”

“I’m not _avoiding_ them,” he insisted. “I was just thinking that now maybe wasn’t the best time.”

Jensen sighed. “It’s your choice, Jared.”

It was the best time, and he knew it. He had a plausible reason for being here, for not coming home for a while. If he put his momma off now she’d just worry and that wouldn’t be fair to her, Jensen was right.

“You’re right, this _is_ the best time,”

“Well good, glad that’s settled,” Jason told him. “Now eat.”

“Doctor’s orders?”

“Chef’s orders, seeing as you puked up the breakfast I made for you.”

 

 

 

The others got back a few hours later and Jared found himself weighed down with a mass of bags from various stores.

“What _is_ all this?”

“Purgatory, dude,” Chad told him. “Just be glad you didn’t have to be there.”

“You needed clothes,” Adrianne explained, “And Manning Flatts has its limitations.”

“Unless you’re a fan of plaid button downs, jeans and ‘kiss the grizzly’ t-shirts,” Sam laughed.

“I don’t see the problem with jeans and button downs, you’ve just described my closet back home.”

“Well, no offense honey,” Sam patted his cheek affectionately. “You’re way too handsome to hide that light under a bushel.”

“Erm, okay – I think.”

“Just take the clothes, man,” Kane urged him. “I need to go masculate or somethin’”

Jared laughed. “Is that even a word?”

“It is now.”

“Fashion show, Jared?” Sam asked him.

“Erm… I err… Maybe later,” he suggested, giving her the soft-eyed look that usually worked on his momma. Thankfully, it seemed to work on Sam too.

“Whenever you like, honey.” She headed towards her room with her own bags.

Jensen followed Tom inside, the latter being immediately accosted by Adrianne, who was crooning about a pair of shoes. Whether she’d bought them for herself or for Tom, he couldn’t quite make out.

“Where’s Sam?” He asked Jared, lips quirking into a smile when he saw the mass of bags he was holding.

“She took her bags to her room, I think.”

“Shit!”

“What’s wrong?” Jared asked him.

“Erm, you remember the tidal wave?”

“Oh.” Jared’s eyes went wide “Did you clean that up?”

“Well, kinda, the worst of it, sort of…” The look of fear on Jensen’s face was priceless. “Why don’t I help you up to your room with some of these bags, they look kinda heavy?”

“Tidal wave?” Kane wanted to know.

“Long story.” He grabbed a half dozen bags. “Come on Jared.”

“Don’t you think we should…”

“Hope to hell that either Tom or Jason remembered to clean her bathroom?” Jensen finished for him. “Yes, I do. Now, can we _please_ escape before we find out?”

 

Jared tried the clothing on at Jensen’s urging, He’d thought seriously about changing in the bathroom but Jensen had actually seen him naked, more than once, so it seemed pretty fucking ridiculous. It still brought a flush of heat to his cheeks, though, as stupid as that might seem. All the clothes were a perfect fit and far more expensive than anything he could normally buy, even though he was on a pretty good salary.

“Who paid for all of this Jensen?”

“We all did.”

Jared frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“We have a collective account that we all draw from, it’s part of our culture. Tom has cards and various things for you to sign when you’re up to it. In the meantime, if there’s anything you need just let one of us know.”

“How does it work, the whole collective thing?”

“Our people live in extended family groups like this one. Most of them are larger, like Manning Flatts, the whole town is just one extended family unit really. We pool our resources and take care of each other. Family is the most important thing to us. All our people are one family and that family is made up of many more. It’s the way we’ve always lived, since we first came here.”

“And it works?”

Jensen nodded.

 

The next few days were tense ones for Jared. He worried constantly about the arrival of his momma, despite endless reassurances, from Jensen and the others, that everything would be fine. At the same time he was fighting whatever the hell was happening to his body. He ached, everywhere and constantly; legs, arms, back, hips, chest… Even his fucking teeth hurt, especially at night. He tried to ride it all out, cope with it, but that wasn’t working out too well for him. He had to man up and try sleeping with Jensen. It was something he wanted and fought against with equal measure and it made him irritated and snappy with everyone; Jensen however was the one who bore the brunt of it. What made it worse was that Jensen responded to his snapping, bitching and whining with a gentle, patient calm and reassurance. Jared couldn’t have hated himself more if he’d tried.

After three hours in bed, trying to ride out a back pain that just wouldn’t quit and his painkillers wouldn’t touch, Jared finally gave in. Feeling more like he was eighty-five than thirty-five, he struggled out of his bed and made his way slowly up to Jensen’s room. It was in total darkness but his enhanced vision worked equally well at night as it did during the day and he shuffled his way over to the bed without falling over anything or breaking a toe, which was something positive at least.

He stood there for a minute, still uncertain as he stared at Jensen’s back and wondered if he really could do this.

“Just get in, Jared,” Jensen told him, in a voice heavy with sleep.

“Yeah… Sorry for waking you. It’s just…”

“’S fine.” A muscled arm reached over to pull back the covers. “Get in, sleep.”

“’Kay,” he nodded. “Thanks.”

It was a huge bed, firm but comfortable, and he lay on his back, staring up at his own, vague reflection in the glass ceiling high above. The position wasn’t doing his back any favours, probably because he was so fucking rigid. It was stupid; he knew it was. He’d slept on Jensen, drooled on him, they’d even shared a bath for fuck’s sake! What the hell was wrong with him?”

This was ridiculous. He shouldn’t have come up here, it would be better if he went back down to his own room. He started to sit up then felt the mattress dip beside him as Jensen rolled over and laid his arm around Jared’s waist.

“You think too loud, relax. _You_ need to sleep, and _I_ need to sleep. Where are you hurting?”

“It’s nothing, I just…”

“You didn’t come all the way up here for nothing; now _tell_ me.”

“It… It’s just my back.”

“Did you take some of the painkillers that Jason prescribed for you?”

“Of _course,_ I fucking took some, I’m not an idiot! I…”

“ _Enough_ , Jared!” The words seemed to reverberate inside his head and he knew he needed to calm down.

“I’m sorry,” he said, quietly.”

“I know, we’re good. Close your eyes and just breathe; slow deep breaths.”

He did as he was asked and soon that addictive scent of Jensen’s seemed to settle over him, like silk. His limbs felt lax and his eyelids heavy. Jensen’s hand rested lightly over his heart, which, to his surprise, felt oddly reassuring.

 

______________________________

 

The day of Jared’s momma’s arrival dawned bright and warm. Jared had slept well after his third night in a row spent in Jensen’s bed. He probably should have tried for another hour or so but there was way too much going on in his head to let him sleep. He used Jensen’s shower instead, a massive walk in that, he had to admit, he was more than a little in love with. Usually he was pretty lethargic when he first woke up but, since they’d been sharing the bed, he’d felt strangely revitalised and ready for whatever the day threw at him. Not so much this morning though; thoughts of his momma coming had his head in turmoil.

“You think too loud.” Jensen walked into the bathroom bare ass naked, a habit Jared was still trying to get used to. As normal his hair was stuck up at all angles and he still looked half asleep.

“Do you have to piss while I’m in the shower?” Jared asked as he turned off the water.

Jensen raised an imperious eyebrow. “Technically, this _is_ still my bathroom.”

Jared grabbed a towel to wrap around his waist. “Guest privileges.”

“If you say so.” He washed his hands and then stared into the mirror. “Clean shaven or manly stubble?” he asked. “I’m hoping to make a good impression on your mom.”

“She’s not a fan of beards or stubble.”

“Shave it is then. You done in the shower?”

“It’s all yours.”

“Thanks.” He met Jared’s eyes. “Try not to worry too much, it’s gonna work out fine with your mom. Sam will have worked her magic before your mom even gets here.”

“I hope so. My momma’s great, you know, she just…” What could he say?

“Worries about her children?”

“Yes,” That was an understatement. “Yes, she does.”

“Good. Now stop worrying. We’ll be on our best behaviour whilst she’s here. You have my word.”

 

 

 

Since the change began Jared had had his share of bad days and good. As luck would have it, the day of his momma’s arrival was **_not_ ** one of his best. He’d had endless muscle spasms and cramps but today’s were off the scale. A shot of painkiller from Jason had helped but he still felt like shit.

“Why the fuck isn’t this easing?” he asked Jason. “What’s going on?”

“Changes to your musculature. Your body is reforming and rewiring itself internally; bone density, internal organs, everything is strengthening, becoming more efficient. I know it’s taking its toll on you right now but it’s actually going pretty well and we’re more than halfway there.”

“To the full moon?”

He nodded.

“Can I ask you something?”

Jason grinned. “Open book man, ask me anything you like,” he invited.

“What would have happened to me?” He’d been thinking about it a lot over the past week.

Jason cocked his head on one side, eyebrow raised. “Want to tell me what brought this on?”

“I just… It’s been a bad few days and I… My mind’s been all over the place and I couldn’t help thinking about what would have happened to me without Jensen’s DNA.” He explained, fingers automatically touching the slightly raised marks of Jensen’s bite.

Jason sighed. “Even if we ignore the injuries from the car accident, which were catastrophic, in simple terms your blood would have become too powerful for your body to cope with. The likelihood is that a stroke would have killed you long before your kidneys failed and pretty much everything else.”

“Killed? Fuck!” Jared pulled in a deep breath as he combed his fingers through his hair. He hadn’t been expecting that. A thought occurred to him. “Oh god! What about Lucy, Lucy Gregson? Her blood’s the same or similar, isn’t it?”

Jason sat back a little, his fierce, dark eyes meeting Jared’s. “She didn’t make it.”

His breath caught in his throat. “What do you mean she didn’t make it, was it the blood?”

“No.” Jensen’s voice came from behind him.  “Her blood had some anomalies that the CDC decided had similar properties to yours but there was no real comparison. Lucy Gregson’s death wasn’t a natural one, she was killed.”

“ _Killed_?”

There was real anger in Jensen’s expression. “The CDC shouldn’t have been involved, other than collating the blood samples, they took it upon themselves to interfere.” Jensen placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently as he sat down beside him. “The night that we got you away from there, we made similar arrangements for Lucy.”

“Because she and I were similar?”

Jensen shook his head. “There is no one like you, _no_ one. But we wanted to ensure that, after what she’d been through, Lucy got home safely.”

“What happened, how did she die?”

“When we found out that you’d been taken to the CDC we made arrangements to get you out of there. We discovered the CDC’s database had been hacked so we assumed that there could be someone on the inside and we knew Lucy could be at risk. We couldn’t chance taking her home right away, so the plan was that she came here with you for a day or two to keep her safe. We used the same plan, different routes. An eighteen-wheeler ploughed into the SUV Lucy was travelling in. She was killed instantly, one of our people was decapitated, the other was badly injured.”

“An accident?” Jared wanted to know, horrified by what he was hearing.

Jensen shook his head. “The men in the truck were armed, they opened fire using armour piercing bullets, they didn’t want any survivors. They escaped the scene in an SUV, not that it did them any good when we found them. A tracking device had been attached to the vehicle Lucy was in, Kane found the ones they’d planted on you.”

“Who were they working for?”

“The SVR; the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service. The nurse at the CDC, Emily Peters, was one of their agents.”

Jared scrubbed at his face, his mind reeling; Lucy dead and Emily a Russian spy?

“I…” His eyes began to well up with tears that he couldn’t stop. “I don’t understand, why would anyone want to hurt poor Lucy?” He asked Jensen. “She was so nice, you know? She didn’t want to be there either but she thought that if her blood could somehow help people…”

“Neither of you should have been there,” Jensen told him, his expression grim. “Those idiots at the CDC, along with other agencies around the world, had one instruction and that was to collate the results of the blood tests, _nothing_ more. We weren’t aware of what they were doing until the last moment. Jeffrey managed to get Titus Welliver and two of his senators down there to put a stop to what was going on…”

“Jeffrey?” Jared asked.

“Morgan.”

“Jeffrey _Dean_ Morgan; the President?”

Jensen nodded. “He gave us time to get Kane and our people in place and for Tom to make sure you were safe and work out a plan to get you here.”

“So President Morgan, is he…”

“One of us, yes he is but, before you ask, he was democratically elected. He’s a good man.”

Jared nodded. “Actually, I voted for him.”

“Why?” Jason asked him.

“I agree with his policies on income inequality, climate change and nuclear disarmament.” Jared frowned, his gaze moving to Jensen. “These policies,” he wondered, “are they yours or his?”

“Jeff’s _not_ my mouthpiece, if that’s what you’re asking. Obviously, we want the same things but I’ve learned through the years that trying to enforce your will, even through others, doesn’t work. People matter, their wants and needs matter and you can’t simply dictate and expect people to follow you. You have to show them a better way to do things, a way that’s ultimately beneficial to all. _Then_ they’ll support it. That’s one of Jeff’s gifts. Sometimes we disagree…”

Jason laughed, eyes sparkling. “And that’s when Jensen loses it, _big_ time. The last big argument he had with Jeff, he ended up taking it out on Tom’s shiny new Porsche.”

Jared looked at Jensen. “You damaged Tom’s car?”

Jensen actually blushed. “It was the nearest thing and… I was pretty pissed.”

“If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes I would never have known it had been a car!” Jason laughed.

“I bought him another one _and_ I apologised to Jeff.”

“Because?” Jason prompted, a huge grin on his face.

Jensen raised a brow. “You’re really pushing this aren’t you?”

Jason’s grin broadened. “Jared should know these things.”

“Oh, I really should,” Jared agreed, unable to wipe the smile off his face.

“Okay, I admit, Jeff was right, and _I_ was wrong.”

Jared laughed, “I guess I should avoid arguing with you.”

“Fuck no!” Jason insisted. “You’ve a better chance of actually getting him to listen than the rest of us combined.”

“Really?”

“Maybe,” Jensen told him, smiling. “Of course, you…” Jensen’s phone chirped. “Hey!” He answered it, smile broadening. “Is he behaving himself? Good! Yes, I will. See you soon then.” He ended the call, his eyes on Jared. “That was Sam. Chad’s collected them from the airport. She and your mom are already on first name terms. They should be here in ninety minutes or so.”

“Oh God!” Jared pulled in a deep breath in an attempt to calm the feeling of panic that was welling up inside of him. What if this was a bad idea? “What if she…”

“Hey, _hey_!” Jensen grabbed his shoulders and those green eyes bored into his. “Calm down Jared, it’s gonna be fine.”

“How can it be fucking fine? She’s my _momma_ , she has like a sixth fucking sense or whatever. She’s gonna _know_ something’s not right here.” Jared tried to get up from the couch but his body had other ideas. His legs folded in protest as shooting pains shot through his torso, the room spinning wildly as the coffee table rushed up to meet him.

________________________

 

Jared woke slowly, aware that someone was in the room before he’d even opened his eyes. He could scent jasmine soap, hairspray and something else; something familiar and comforting; home. He opened his eyes slowly, momentarily surprised to find his mother in a chair beside the bed. She was reading a book; a thick paperback with a lurid front cover showing a bare-chested pirate and a blonde woman with large breasts, barely covered by a flimsy, low cut dress.

“Thought we’d weaned you off the bodice rippers, momma,”

Her smile was broad but her eyes were a little tearful as she put the book down on his bedside table.

“Oh baby, how are you?” She grasped his hand in both of hers. “I’ve been so worried.”

“I’m fine, momma.”

“No” she cut him off. “You’re not fine. You could have been killed and I didn’t even know where you were. I…” She bit her bottom lip, soft, brown eyes brimming with tears. “I could have lost you.”

“I’m sorry.” He was _so_ fucking sorry for hurting her like this. “I was speeding, stupid…”

“Your doctor, Jason, is it?” She cut him off. “He says you were lucky, that you’re doing well.”

He gave her a smile of reassurance. “I’m much better than I was. I have good days and not so good ones. This hasn’t been one of my best,” He admitted.

“He said you weren’t too well today. We had a long chat and he explained things; the muscle damage you have. I didn’t really understand the technical terms,” she smiled. “I think he had to dumb it down for me quite a bit.”

“For me, too, sometimes.”

“I was pretty shocked when I first saw him, I mean, he erm…”

“Breaks a few stereotypes?”

His mom laughed. “I’ll say. He could easily be on the front cover of one of my -so called -  bodice rippers, couldn’t he?”

“Momma!” He laughed in surprise and immediately regretted it. “Fu… Damn, don’t make me laugh!”

“Are you okay, baby?” The concern was back, written all over her face and he hated that he’d put it there.

“Yeah, just… I’m okay, honestly.”

“Would you like me to go down and fetch Jason for you?”

“No. I just laughed harder than I should have, that’s all.” He squeezed her fingers, gently. “So, tell me, how was the journey?”

“I couldn’t believe it,” she shook her head. “A private jet!” She bit her bottom lip again. “Don’t laugh at this but… I took some photo’s to show your Aunt Emily and those blowhards at the golf club and the church. I must have seen Haley Beckwith’s pictures of her hotel room, when they went to Vegas, at _least_ twenty times.”

Jared grinned. “You should take some of the house.”

“That’s what Samantha said but it seems a little intrusive.”

“Jensen wouldn’t mind,” he assured her.

“I don’t know Jared, he’s erm… He’s a little formal, don’t you think?”

“He just has old fashioned manners I guess and in a way he’s kinda shy.”

“Shy. With a face like that?” She shook her head. “He’s another one who could be on the cover of a romantic novel.”

Jared fought the urge to laugh. “Does dad know you have a thing for other men?”

“It’s not a thing! I may be getting old, young man but I’m neither blind nor stupid. Besides your daddy wasn’t exactly hit by the ugly stick or I wouldn’t have had such beautiful children.” She smiled, patting his hand.

“How is it you know Jensen? I can’t recall you mentioning him before.”

“We met in college. Jensen was a senior but we just hit it off, y’know? I _must_ have mentioned him. We’ve always kept in touch, just didn’t exactly see each other much. Jensen runs his family’s business, so he’s pretty involved with that.”

“What is it that he does? I mean this place, the plane and everything?”

“He owns AA Renewable, amongst other things.

“Oh my!” His momma was wide eyed. “ _That_ young man?”

“He’s older than he looks momma.”

“Not _that_ much older. Still, I’m guessing it’s a family business, his parents…”

“They’re dead, momma, they died quite a while ago.”

“Oh, that’s a real shame. I don’t doubt they would have been very proud of him.” Jared couldn’t help smiling, sometimes she had a generous heart.

She frowned at him. “What?”

“Just thinking how lucky I am and how much I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too and Jason was saying it will be a while before you can come home.”

He nodded. “A couple of months at least.”

She frowned. “What about your job, will they…”

“They already fired me.”

Her eyes narrowed. “ _What_?”

“No biggy, momma,” he reassured her. “I never really liked it there, I should have left a while ago.”

“I remember you saying you were thinking about setting up on your own. Will you do that?”

“I don’t know yet. Tom; he’s Jensen’s cousin, he’s a Brit, have you met him yet?”

She shook her head.

“He’s asked if I’d be interested in doing some work for the charities AA are involved with. It’s something I might consider.”

“But not until you’re better,” She insisted, eyes set on his.

Jared smiled. “Now you sound like Jensen.”

“If that’s the case then he clearly gives good advice.” She patted his hand. “Don’t rush into anything honey. If you need any money your father and I will take care of it.”

He smiled. “I’m good for money, momma. You know me; save and invest. I can afford to take some time, don’t worry.”

She shook her head. “I’m your momma, honey, it’s what I do.”

“I know you do. Hey, I forgot to ask, is your room nice and everything?”

“It’s amazing.” Her eyes went wide. “I could fit half my house in that room and the _bathroom_ …”

“Which floor are you on?”

“The ground floor. The jacuzzi is right outside and then there’s that enormous swimming pool. Samantha says she has a spare suit if I want to swim.”

Jared grinned, he was hoping she’d hit it off with Sam. “Are you gonna take her up on that?” he asked her.

“I _just_ might.” She beamed. “You have a beautiful view, I was looking at it earlier, it’s stunning. The view from the top floor must be incredible.”

“It is. Jensen has the top floor. There’s so much glass up there that you can see for miles, watch the weather coming in.”

“That must be really something.” She patted his hand again. “Now, Jason said I should ask you if you feel up to coming downstairs for a while. It’s up to you but you need to eat. I was talking to that young man with the lovely blue eyes…”

“Chris?” He wondered.

“Christian,” she nodded. “ _That’s_ it. He was saying that they were planning a barbeque later. I told him we Padalecki’s were particularly fond of barbeque and he’s volunteered to man the grill.”

The idea made him feel hungry. It had been a while since he’d eaten good barbeque. “I might be up to coming down for that later.”

“Only if you’re sure, honey. I could always bring you something up…”

“I might sleep for a while and then see how I feel, momma.”

“You do that, I’ll let you rest.” She got to her feet. “Is there anything I can get you before I go?”

“No, I’m good.”

She smiled, combing through his hair with her fingers before dropping a kiss on his forehead. “Get some rest, baby.”

“I will momma.”

 

 

 

Jared came out of the bathroom, drying his hair, to find Jensen sitting on his bed.

“Hey.”

“Hey yourself. Thought I’d come and see if you were coming down for the barbeque. Your mom’s with Sam making your grandmother’s famous barbeque sauce. Chris is back, he and Tom are about to come to blows over setting the fire and everyone is being busy and helpful, so…”

“You thought you’d get out of the way?”

“This is me being helpful, too many cooks and all that. Plus, I’m halfway through chapter one of ‘The Cornish Captain’s Mistress’ and I’m pretty sure that Esmeralda, with the ‘flashing cerulean blue eyes’ is gonna have a problem with her father’s new wife.”

“ _You’re_ reading momma’s book?” Jared laughed.

Jensen met his eyes. “Don’t be judging me Padalecki!”

He laughed, flipping Jensen the finger. “Fuck off, idiot.”

“Such language, I may need to speak to your mom about that.” Jensen laughed. “You look a whole lot better than you did earlier, are you doing okay?”

“I guess. I just… He sighed. “Momma picks up on things and I don’t want her to worry.” He wrapped the towel around his neck and sat across from Jensen on the bed. “I don’t know what to do,” he admitted.

“There’s nothing you can do and there’s nothing you _need_ to do,” Jensen assured him. She’s worried about you, that’s only natural. Your mom’s not suspicious of anything; she’s just trying to get to know everyone and reassure herself that you’re in good hands. _You’re_ the one who needs to relax.”

“Yeah… It’s been said,” he admitted. “Even before my life turned crazy I was never the most laid-back person.”

“Really? Well colour _me_ surprised,” Jensen deadpanned.

“Asshole!”

He grinned. “Sounds like you’re feeling better. How’s the pain?”

“Pretty much gone, for now at least. My chest feels kinda tight but it doesn’t actually hurt.” He sighed. “I need some kind of early warning system, y’know? Like some epileptics have, a smell or something. Can’t you sense anything?”

Jensen shook his head. “Not in the way you’d think. I can sense when you’re _in_ distress but I can’t sense when this kind of pain is going to take you, or if you’re going to collapse or whatever. That’s probably because this is a temporary thing and because, traditionally the two of us would be isolated somewhere.”

“I hate this,” he admitted. “The not knowing how I’m gonna feel from one hour to the next, I just need it to be over, Jensen.” He turned away, scrubbed his hands over his face in an attempt to pull himself together.

“It’s almost over, just a couple more weeks.”

“It feels like forever. Sometimes I just wish Jason would give me something to knock me out ‘till all this shit is over!”

Jared hadn’t heard him move but Jensen was suddenly right behind him, body warm. He rested his hand lightly on Jared’s shoulder before giving it a squeeze. “I wish it were possible Jared, I really do. The best I can offer are early nights and late mornings, whatever you need whenever you need me. You know, you don’t have to go to this barbeque thing…”

“No,” He shook his head. “I need to be up when I’m feeling okay.” Jensen was a warm, solid presence behind him and he smelled _so_ good. It was getting easier and easier to get close to Jensen, to let Jensen touch him, hold him. There was nothing sexual in his touches; an arm thrown around his waist at night, a firm back against his chest, a hand rubbing his shoulders, his back. It wasn’t demanding anything of him.

It was new to Jared, this being close to someone; held, touched. It wasn’t something he’d done with the women he’d slept with. For him it had always been about the sex and little else. When it was over he left, end of story. He’d always endeavoured to make it clear that he wasn’t looking for any kind of relationship and carefully avoided sleeping with any of the women he worked with. There had been times when he’d wondered if there was actually something wrong with him; some reason why he couldn’t get involved or commit to anyone. Maybe it had been his biology talking all along, who knew?

“So, barbeque?” Jensen asked. “There’s no pressure, if you want to stay up here a little longer…”

“No, I’m good and I need to get out of this fucking room.”

“Finish getting dressed then.”

“You know I’m not an invalid, you don’t have to wait,” he grumbled as he pulled on a T-shirt. “I’m perfectly capable of coming downstairs on my own.”

“And you seemed perfectly capable of standing up from the couch this morning, just before you collapsed and almost bashed your brains out on the table.”

Jared sighed. He knew Jensen was right but that didn’t make it any easier to accept. “Point,” he admitted.

“Good. Now get your ass in gear. I’d like to save at least one steak and hopefully some ribs from being either marinated beyond recognition or reduced to charcoal because no one’s actually manning the grill.”

Jared couldn’t help but laugh.

You’ll get to meet Jason’s girl too.”

“He has a girlfriend?” He rummaged in his drawer and pulled out clean underwear.

“Her name’s Lisa. She’s a school teacher up at the reservation. You’ll like her.”

He knew Jason spent quite a lot of time at the reservation, now he knew why. “Is it serious?”

“Lisa’s human so no, not really. They’re good together though and we’ve had humans live with us before. I thought this might be one of those times, that she’d move on with us when we leave but I’m not so sure. She’s committed to her work on the reservation.”

“Move on?” Jared asked him. “You’re not staying here?”

“We can’t spend too long in one place. People tend to notice when you don’t age, we have to be cautious. This is a pretty good place for us. The indigenous people know who we are, stories about us are a part of their verbal history, told in their stories over generations. Science consigns it to legend and myth.”

“What about Manning Flatts? You visit there, there might be photographs or something.”

“No humans live in Manning Flatts but they pass through on their way to the National Park or whatever. They pick up a little tourist trade, so we make sure the families there change regularly. Wherever we live there’s at least one town like Manning Flatts nearby.”

“For security,” Jared realised.

“That’s right. Sometimes things happen, like your accident, and we have to take precautions.” He clapped Jared on the shoulder. “We also have to go and eat barbeque, so c’mon.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Jared finished dressing and ran his fingers through his hair. “Am I okay?”

“You’re fine. Just remember that your mom saw you tired and hurting earlier so you’re gonna have to take it easy, even if you feel fine.”

He huffed out a laugh. “I’ll just sit and eat, she’s used to that.”

Jensen nodded. “And if you do start to feel bad…”

“I’ll let you know,” he conceded.

 

 

“You really weren’t joking about liking your meat rare were you?” Jared asked as he came to sit beside Jensen on one of the patio’s many couches, his plate loaded with food.

Jensen smiled at him and purposely licked at the corners of his mouth. He glanced at Jared’s plate and couldn’t hide his disgust. “That steak’s a waste of good meat, if you can still _call_ it meat. That’s just burned, all the flavour of the meat has just - gone.”

Jared screwed up his nose, a look he found oddly endearing. “That looks almost raw. Isn’t it really chewy and gross?”

“No, it’s tender.” He cut off a piece and offered it to him. “Try it.”

“Do you _want_ me to spit it out in front of you?”

“Indulge me,” Jensen urged him. “Just try it.” He held the fork out to him and after some hesitation Jared took the offered steak and ate it, slowly. A part of him wanted to lick Jared’s moist lips; clean off any trace of bloody meat and let his tongue chase the flavour into his mouth, but he resisted.

“Well?” he asked instead.

Jared licked his lips again and Jensen wished he’d stop doing it, there was a limit to his restraint. His cock was achingly hard, though that was nothing new around Jared.

“Actually, that’s really good.

Jensen grinned. “Told you. Want some more?” he offered, cutting a large piece off his steak.

“I can’t take your steak, man.”

“It’s my second and Kane promised me ribs.”

“Well, okay,” he laughed. “Where food’s concerned I don’t take much convincing.”

He watched Jared polish off the rest of the steak and go get another equally bloody one from the grill.

“Jared Tristan Padalecki, is that rare meat you’re eating?” Jensen had been too engrossed in watching Jared demolish his food to sense Sherri’s approach.

Jared gazed up at her. “It’s really good.”

“Good!” Her face screwed up in horror. “It’s barely cooked, you really shouldn’t be eating meat that raw. 

For goodness sake Jared, I shouldn’t have to tell you these things, you…”

He saw Jared shoot his mom a confused smile. “It’s _fine_ momma, delicious in fact.”

Sherri frowned, shaking her head. “I’ve _told_ you you shouldn’t eat meat that raw but do you listen? I blame your grandmother, she…”

“Sherri?” Sam’s voice cut through the awkward silence that had fallen. “Do we have anymore marinade ready?”

“Oh, I erm…” She tore her gaze away from Jared’s plate to focus on Sam. “I, I’m not sure. I-I’ll be right with you.”

“Are you okay momma?” Jared asked her.

“Just…” She shook her head. “I don’t know how many arguments I’ve had with your damn – with your grandmother about eating her meat like that, it just never sat right with me.” She stroked a hand over her son’s hair. “Don’t eat too much of it, you don’t need a belly ache on top of everything else.”

“I’m done,” he told her with a smile. “At least until dessert. There is dessert, right?”

She shook her head. “My son the bottomless pit. Don’t worry, there’s dessert.”

“Pie?” Jared asked her. He turned to Jensen. “Momma makes the best pie.”

“Apple?” Jensen asked hopefully, giving the woman a smile.

“And Molasses.”

“Shoofly pie?” Jensen asked, eyes wide. “I haven’t had that in years.”

Jared laughed. “Like I said, _the_ best pie.”

“Looking forward to it.”

Sherri’s outburst over the meat and the way she had spoken to Jared, had annoyed Jensen. He knew it shouldn’t. He guessed she was only looking out for him, in her own way and the last thing he wanted was for Jared to pick up on his irritation. Still there was something… Something not quite right in her scent, but… He gave her a soft smile instead, which to his relief she returned before heading over to Sam. He knew he was being a possessive bastard, selfish even. His own family meant everything to him and Jared was part of that now.

A none too gentle elbow in the ribs distracted him and he turned to face a concerned Jared. “You okay?” he asked. “You seem miles away.”

“Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that?”

“I’m good,” Jared assured him. “Though my belly might not be thanking me later. To be honest, I don’t usually eat this much meat.”

“Your body is most likely craving the protein. You need to build up skeletal muscle, muscle mass in general.”

His face fell. “More changes then?”

He rubbed what he hoped was a comforting hand over Jared’s shoulder. “Hopefully the worst of it is over.”

“I can’t say that I won’t be happy for the pains, the cramps and the rest of this shit to be over but it’s not exactly the end for me is it?” He glanced over to where his mom and Sam were talking. “She’s my momma Jensen, we don’t exactly have the best of relationships but… I’m hardly gonna see her and dad anymore; not Jeff, grandma or the rest of my family, and when I do it won’t be the same. I’m gonna have to lie, hide things from them.” Jared shook his head. “This is so fucked up.”

“I know it is.” He frowned. “If I could change things for you I would. I don’t want to see you hurt, unhappy… You could just tell your mom the truth.”

“ _Seriously_? The woman who just freaked out over a steak!”

Jared did have a point. “It’s an option, that’s all I’m saying. Without this change your mom would have lost you, would the truth be so much more painful?” He rubbed his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know how your mom, your family, would react to knowing the truth. It’s not a decision you have to rush into but if, at some point, you do decide to tell them then you have my support.” It wasn’t a lie, he would support Jared, protect his family but if they ever became a threat he knew he’d do whatever he had to.

 

Jared was pretty damn sure what his mom’s reaction would be but now wasn’t the time to get into it with Jensen. “We can talk about it later. Like you said, it’s not something I need to rush into. By the way, I told my mom that the two of us met in college, that you were a senior and we’ve kept in touch.”

“Luckily, I know where you went to college and what courses you took, huh?”

“She asked how we knew each other, what was I supposed to say?”

“Just keep things vague, no details, okay?”

“I’m not an idiot!” Jared told him, indignantly.

Jensen held up his hands. “That’s not what I’m saying. I just know how difficult this stuff can be, okay?”

Jared nodded. “Okay, sorry.”

“No need to be sorry,” Jensen told him. “So, tell me, did you have any close friends in college that you spoke about or anyone your family might have met?”

“I had a roommate, Ira Hale. We never did the whole – come home and meet my folks – thing. He lives in Belgium now, has a wife, rug-rats…”

“You still in touch?”

“Letters, a couple of times a year; Christmas, birthdays. He’s a good guy and he put up with me being me.”

“Which means?” Jensen wondered.

Jared laughed. “He knew I had asshole tendencies. I’ve mellowed some, since college.”

Jensen grinned. “I’ll take your word for it.”

“Now who’s being an asshole?”

“Hey, Jensen, not interrupting anything am I?”

Jensen looked up at the sound of a woman’s voice and smiled. “Lisa. Glad you could make it.” He turned to Jared. “This is Lisa, Jason’s friend. Lisa, this is Jared.”

She smiled. “Hi Jared. Jason’s mentioned you. How are you, feeling better?”

“Much better, thank you. It’s good to meet you.” She was a tiny little thing with bright, brown, knowing eyes in a well boned face, her long dark hair a mass of tiny braids tied back from her face.

Jensen got to his feet and planted a kiss on her cheek. “Go and get yourself some barbeque, there should be plenty left,” he told her.

“ _If_ Jason hasn’t eaten it all, you mean?”

“Well he has stuck pretty close to the grill,” Jared pointed out.

She laughed, lighting up her pretty face. “I don’t doubt it. I’ll wander over and stake a claim to some food. Talk to you both later.”

“She seems really nice,” Jared told Jensen as he resumed his seat. He watched her walk over to the grill. “Does she erm…”

“Know about us?” Jensen prompted. He shook his head. “She doesn’t know what we are. It was something we were considering telling her, if she decided to move on with us, but she wants to carry on with her work at the reservation, it’s important to her. It’s gonna be hard on Jason.”

“But there’s no future in it, is there?”

Jensen shrugged. “That depends on how you see your future. They could be together, adopt if they wanted to.”

“But not have a family of their own?”

“No.” He shook his head. “The results aren’t something you _ever_ want to see.”

“It must be pretty hard on them both.”

“To a point. To be honest I can’t say Lisa’s decision was a surprise to me. I don’t think it was a surprise to Jason either, he knows how important her work is to her. Saying goodbye won’t be easy for him but he’ll find someone, have a family of his own when he’s ready. He’s still young. Tom and Adrianne on the other hand… I don’t think it will be long for them.”

“What about Sam?” Jared asked him.

“Sam’s had sixteen children, over the years. Her youngest, Edward, is in his eighties, he’s a great kid. He’s studying at Oxford.”

Jared frowned and Jensen could just about see the wheels turning in his head.

“That’s just…” He shook his head. “It’s pretty weird, man.”

“You’ll get your head around it.”

“If you say so. Is Sam married then?”

“She was,” he said softly. It was still something he didn’t like to think about. “Her husband was killed in an explosion not long after Edward was born. Lorne was probably the best of us and losing him was hard on us all, but it devastated Sam. It’s one of the reasons she’s here with us. Things could be looking up for her though.”

“How’s that?”

“Give it an hour or so and I’m betting you’ll see why.”

“That’s all you’re giving me?”

“Patience Jared, patience.”

 

 

The barbeque turned into something of a party as the afternoon turned into early evening. Chris, Tom and Adrianne seemed to be having some kind of drinking contest and Kane, Jason and Chad brought out guitars and started an impromptu jam session. Jared had heard Kane play before, but it turned out he sang just as well as he played. It was country music, mostly, which wasn’t usually his thing, but he found himself enjoying it. Personally, Jared avoided singing, apart from in the shower but he was surprised to find that Jensen not only had a great voice but was up for joining in with the others.

An hour or so later, he realised that he hadn’t seen his momma in quite a while, which worried him. He got to his feet and found her in the kitchen. “Momma, what are you doing? You’re missing out on the fun.”

“I’ll be out in a while, baby.” She pulled a face. “This kind of party isn’t really for me and I just wanted to get some of the cleaning up out of the way.”

He sighed in frustration. “You’re a guest, you shouldn’t be doing this. Knowing you, you’ll have been on your feet the all day, apart from the flight and I know you probably worried the whole way here. Just leave that, come out and sit with me, relax for a while.”

She patted his cheek. “Don’t you go worrying about me, I just want finish up here. You know how I feel about an untidy kitchen and Sam…”

He cut her off quickly, not wanting to get into things with her. “Seriously momma, have you sat down at all?”

“ _Barely_ ,” Sam’s voice cut in and Jared couldn’t help wondering how much she’d heard. “You should put your feet up, in fact we _both_ should.”

Jared smiled gratefully at Sam. “Is this quitting time ladies?”

Sam grinned. “What do you say Sherri, shall we let these youngsters take care of us for a change? Not this particular youngster,” she said, giving Jared a stern look, “Who should be sitting on his ass, but the rest of them.”

“I don’t want to impose or anything.”

Sam raised an eyebrow. “Okay, that’s it. Sherri Padalecki, we are leaving this damn kitchen! We’re gonna sit down, Tom is gonna make me one of those perfect martinis… What’ your poison Sherri?”

To Jared’s relief his momma smiled. “I’m not a drinker, the church teaches us abstinence when it comes to alcohol and moderation in all things but, I have to admit I am partial to the odd virgin martini.”

“Then Tom’s your man, one virgin martini coming up,” Sam told her.

He wasn’t sure how virgin the martinis Tom had made actually were or how many his mom had been partial to; but thirty minutes later, to Jared’s surprise, Tom had his momma up dancing. She’d always loved to dance, even though his dad was something of a reluctant partner. Seeing her now made him wish he’d brought his phone down with him so he could record it and send it to his brother Jeff.

Jensen brought him out another soda, together with a beer for himself and sat down beside him.

“How are you doing?”

“Pretty good,” he admitted. “Plus my invalid status means that momma won’t drag me up to dance.”

It pulled a laugh out of Jensen. “You don’t like dancing?” he asked.

“I don’t count it as one of my talents, unless I’ve had a few beers. What about you?”

He smiled. “When you’ve lived as long as I have being able to dance is a required skill set.”

“You mean real dancing, right?”

“There’s _unreal_ dancing?” Jensen asked him, eyebrow raised in question.

“Actually, that could pretty much describe what I do,” he admitted. So what sort of dancing can you do, is it waltzing and all that kind of stuff?”

“I can waltz, foxtrot, Charleston, jitterbug, bop, twist, salsa, contradanse. The contradanse was pretty big in the French and English courts back in the day.”

“So you what, went to balls and shit?”

Jensen nodded. “Whatever the times dictated, it’s always been essential for us to fit in.”

“Is it harder to fit in now than it was then?” Jared wondered.

“In some ways. People leave more of a footprint now, evidence of who you are and where you’ve been, paper trails, computer records, photographs. That’s why we can never overstay our welcome anywhere and why we place our people in the right positions to ensure that footprint remains as hidden as possible.”

“What about the president, how can you hide someone like that?”

“We’ve had years to plan this. Jeff will retire from public life once he’s finished his term in office and we have contingencies in place. Since the idea of Jeff running for office was put forward we’ve planned for it, put people in the right places in order to protect him from the wrong kind of scrutiny.” Jensen chuckled. “Can’t say these haven’t been interesting times.”

“Jensen?”

Jared turned to see an older man with copper coloured hair, thinning on top with a short beard and moustache shot through with grey.

Jensen got to his feet and shook the man’s hand. “Jim, glad you could make it. Jared, this is Jim Beaver, sheriff of Manning Flatts.”

Jared smiled at him. “It’s good to finally meet you sheriff, I know that technically we’ve met before but thankfully I don’t remember a thing about it.”

Beaver laughed. “It’s Jim and it’s good to see you conscious, kid. Kane tells me your mom’s flown up.”

“For a couple of days, yeah. She’s over there with Sam, the two of them seem to have hit it off pretty good.”

He nodded, a fond smile on his face. “Sam’s a fine woman, easy to like.”

Jared noticed Jensen’s sudden grin and raised brow but said nothing.

“I’ll wander over then, have a chat with your mom.”

“She’ll probably want to ask you about the accident,” Jared warned him.

The sheriff nodded. “Only to be expected but it’ll probably put her mind at rest to hear an official version.”

“It will,” Jared nodded. “Thank you.”

“Not a problem.”

“Help yourself to barbeque, Jim. I think Sam was saving you some ribs,” Jensen told him, resuming his seat.

“A plate of ribs and one of those ice-cold long-necks Kane was talking about on the phone sounds pretty good to me. I’ll see the both of you a little later.”

“Enjoy yourself,” Jensen urged him.

Jared watched him walk over to where Sam and his mom were talking, watching the three of them make the introductions. He turned to Jensen, “So I’m guessing the sheriff is sweet on Sam?”

“Oh yeah! The two of them have been dancing round the whole romance thing for years.”

“So, what’s holding them back?”

“Honestly, I think it’s the preoccupation the two of them have with taking care of us. Jim and his people protect us from any unwanted scrutiny and Sam thinks we need looking after.”

“Can’t you fix it?”

Jensen sighed. “If I tell Sam that we don’t need her to keep house for us then she’s gonna think she failed us somehow. She’ll be hurt and I can’t do anything to hurt her. It’s pretty much the same thing with Jim; if I tried to replace him he’d think he’d failed us.”

“That’s _it_?” Jared stared at him, dumbfounded. “You’ve lived for fuck knows how long and you’re this clueless, _all_ of you?” He shook his head in disbelief. “If they’re into each other then all you have to do is steer them together, it’ll either work or it won’t.” He watched the two of them chatting to his mom. “When Mom goes back will Sam be flying down with her?”

“I guess.” Jensen shrugged. “I hadn’t really given it much thought.”

“How will Sam get back here from the airport?”

“She’ll wait for Chad to do his checks and then they’ll drive up together.”

“So, you arrange for Chad to be delayed or something, and you get Jim to pick Sam up because everyone here is busy. All you can do is give the two of them some alone time, see if anything comes of that. If it doesn’t at least you haven’t lost anything.”

Jensen seemed to think about it for a minute and then he nodded. “It might work.”

“Worth a shot,” Jared told him with a smile.

“Absolutely. You want anything else, pie, barbeque?”

“No, I’m stuffed, thanks and I might go lie down for a while.”

“Are you okay?” Jensen took his arm.

“I’m not hurting or anything, I’m just real tired, it’s been a pretty full-on day for me.”

“Honestly I think you’ve done pretty well lasting this long,” Jensen told him.

“Without falling on my ass, is that what you’re saying?” He grinned.

“No, but it’s not far from what I was thinking.” Jensen laughed. “Give me a minute to let your mom know and I’ll take you upstairs.”

“I can…”

“Stay right there and wait for me to help,” Jensen insisted.

 

Jensen helped him make his way slowly inside and up to his room, deciding against taking Jared up to the top floor, as tired as he was. Once there Jared sat down on his bed and started fumbling with the buttons on his shirt. He was clearly exhausted and too damn stubborn to ask for help. Shaking his head, Jensen swatted his hands away.

“Let me do it?” he offered.

“Thanks.”

Jensen gently stripped him of his clothes before Jared lay down. “Get some sleep,” he told him, draping the quilt over him.

“Make my apologies, huh?”

“I will.” He headed for the door.

“I had a good time today,” Jared told him.

“Me too.” He smiled. “I’ll come and check on you later.”

 

The impromptu party continued into the night but after a couple of hours Jensen had had enough. He cleared a few plates into the kitchen and took out some of the trash before declaring he was done for the night to the others.

Sherri had checked on Jared a while ago and let him know he was still sleeping but he knew a restful sleep was pretty elusive for him, especially when he was alone. It was no surprise then that when he went up to Jared’s room he was awake, the bedside lamp casting the room in shadows.

“You okay?” He asked.

He shrugged. “Just aching. I think I slept for a while though. Is the party still going on?”

Jensen nodded. “Slowing down a little but I’m partied out. Do you need me to fetch Jason?”

“No,” He shook his head. It’s not that bad, honestly.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You sure?”

“I’m fine, it’ll ease off in a while, it comes and goes, y’know?”

Jensen shook his head in exasperation, Jared was nothing if not stubborn. “Ease over, make some room,” He told him, stripping off his t-shirt.”

“But you…”

“I’ve taken out the trash, cleaned up some, eaten half my body weight in barbeque and had a few beers to wash it down. I’m good Jared. You, on the other hand, are hurting, so let me help with that, okay?”

“Yeah,” Jared gave him an exhausted smile. “Thanks man.”

Jensen finished undressing and climbed into bed beside Jared, turning off the lamp. Five minutes later Jared was out for the count, snoring softly.

 

_________________________________

 

Lazy mornings weren’t usually Jensen’s thing but waking with Jared’s head on his shoulder and long heavy limbs wrapped around him could easily break that habit. His long hair was, as usual, stuck out at every conceivable angle and, _as_ _usual_ , it didn’t fail to put a smile on his face. Jared was sleeping heavily enough that Jensen knew he didn’t feel the soft kiss he planted on his cheek. Stealing that kiss had become another of his morning habits, a temptation he’d found pretty impossible to resist since the two of them had been sharing a bed. A better person might have been strong enough, but that person wasn’t him.

What he really wanted, craved in fact, was a real kiss; a slow exploration of lips and tongue while his fingers threaded through that mess of long silky hair he loved so much. He wanted to nip at that firm chin, lick repeatedly over his nape, where his bite mark had scarred so perfectly. He wanted to let his hands explore every inch of sweet-scented golden flesh and powerful muscle.

All that would come, soon enough. How many human lifetimes had he waited for Jared to come along? A few more days and everything would be as it should be. His wait would be over and his people would have the future he had planned for.

“Jared honey, you awake?”

Jensen turned his head quickly, his eyes meeting those of Sherri, who was stood in the half open doorway, a shocked expression on her face.

“He’s still sleep…” The door slammed shut before he could finish.” Jensen sighed, free hand running through his short hair as Jared stirred.

“Jensen?”

He gave him a smile. “Morning, how are you feeling?”

“Pretty good.” He rolled off Jensen and stretched slowly. “Did I hear the door?”

“Erm, yeah.” He sat up and rested against the headboard. “That was your mom. She didn’t look too happy.”

Jared groaned. “Oh Shit!”

“She was just surprised,” Jensen reassured him. Clearly, she wasn’t expecting to find the two of us here. She’s probably just jumped to the wrong conclusion.”

“Like I said, shit!” Jared let out a long, slow breath. “For all that I love her, she… My folks are good people, great parents but they’re… They’re pretty screwed up when it comes to certain things, they’re never gonna be flying the rainbow flag, y’know. Momma was firmly behind the Religious Freedom Restoration Acts.”

“What?” Jensen didn’t attempt to hide his horror. “Why, I mean, how the hell can anyone in their right mind support that kind of crap?” He realised this was Jared’s mother he was talking about and he paled. “Jared, I’m sorry, I…”

“You don’t need to apologise,” Jared told him.

“There wasn’t anything for her to see, we’re just sharing a bed.”

“We’re both naked and I woke up sprawled all over you. _That’s_ what she saw. There’s a chance I might be able to convince her that you just had too many drinks and passed out on the same bed when you came up to check on me, but don’t get your hopes up.

“She’s tried to set me up over and over again, with a friend’s daughter, niece, cousin or random member of her church, more times than I can remember. Momma’s version of a relationship and mine don’t exactly gel. I thought that might settle down when I moved out and got my own place, but it never has.” He scrubbed his hands over his face.

“Jared, I…” Jensen started to get out of bed. “Let me get dressed and I’ll go and speak to her, explain that it wasn’t what it looked like.”

Jared shook his head. “You don’t have to do that, it’s fine.”

“It’s not _fine_ , she’s your mom. I might not agree with her beliefs, but I don’t want to see either you or her hurt, simply because she might have misinterpreted what she saw.” The whole situation seemed pretty ludicrous.

Jared smiled at him. “I’ll come with you.”

“No, let me try. My fuck up anyway. If we’d have gone up to my room, like we usually do, it would have been fine, she wouldn’t have ventured up there.” He got out of bed and began to put on the clothes he’d taken off last night.

“This isn’t all on you, in fact it isn’t on you at all,” Jared told him. “Either I go and speak to her or we go together, just don’t expect too much, either way.”

“Okay,” Jensen relented. “Together.”

 

_______________________________

 

“You do _not_ come into this house; Jensen’s house and start throwing insults and accusations around about Jensen and this family. Do you _hear_ me Sherri? You have _no_ right to start making demands!” Sam’s voice reached them at the top of the stairs and Jared met Jensen’s eyes over his shoulder.

He groaned. “So much for the voice of reason. I should maybe deal with this,” he suggested. “If she can piss Sam off…”

“You’re probably right. I’ll leave the talking to you, if that’s what you want.”

What Jared wanted hardly seemed to matter as the argument downstairs stepped up a gear.

“Do you think I want to stay in this house with that-that abomination, one _minute_ longer than I have to?” His mom shouted. “Jared and I are leaving!”

“No, _we’re_ not!” Jared let his voice ring out as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

“You can get whatever medical help you need when we get back to Texas,” his mother insisted, her glare fixed on Jensen. “Go and pack your things.”

Jared ignored her and turned to Sam. “My apologies Sam. Would you mind giving us a few minutes?”

“Not a problem, honey, you don’t need to apologise.” Sam gave him a smile before heading back to her rooms.

“We need to talk, momma.” He knew he had to get a grip on this before things got worse.

“Not with _him_ in the room we don’t.”

“This is _Jensen’s_ room, Jensen’s _house_ and you’re a guest here. Jensen isn’t leaving. You need to apologise to him and then go and do the same to Sam.”

“I’ll be damned if I…”

“ _What_?” Jared felt his temper finally snap. “Jumped to the wrong conclusion, insulted my friend, upset Sam? We shared a bed last night, nothing more, though why the hell it would be any of your business if it was, I don’t know. We were both tired, Jensen had had a few too many drinks and crashed on the bed, end of story.”

His mother sighed, shaking her head. “You don’t need to lie to me Jared. I know what I saw. I should have realised yesterday. The way he was all over you the whole time…”

“You’re not _listening_ momma,” he cut her off. “You know what I used to be like when I was asleep. Remember how Jeff used to complain whenever we had to share a bed on vacation? I’m a hugger, it’s something I’ve never grown out of.”

She gave him a sad smile. “We can get you some help, honey, before things go too far. Only last year Pastor Anderson found a place for that Gibbons boy. They turned him right around in no time.”

Jared frowned. “A place?”

“They know what they’re doing son. They can help you to cast out your sins, they’ll have you back on god’s path in no time at all. They offer prayer and treatment to help you get your head on straight.” She smiled. “We can talk about it when we get home.”

Jared sighed. He knew this would probably be a lost cause before he’d even started but he had to try. “You need to listen to what I’m saying, momma. We slept in the same bed like I said, that’s all there is to it. You can choose to believe me or not. If you want to leave today I’m sure that can be arranged but I won’t be coming with you.”

“Jared! You can’t _stay_ here, not with him,” She insisted.

He turned to Jensen, face burning with embarrassment. “Can you arrange a flight and everything for today?”

He nodded, eyes filled with sympathy. “I’ll check with Chad but I’m sure that won’t be a problem.”

“Thank you.” He turned back to his momma. “You should go and pack your things.”

She started to nod. “You’re coming with me?”

“ _No_ , that’s not going to happen. I won’t see you again before you leave but have a safe trip.”

He turned around and made his way back up the stairs, passing Jensen without saying anything. He couldn’t speak, not right now.

“Jared!” Her voice followed him upstairs. “Don’t you walk away from me, don’t you dare!”

 

“You need to go to your room Sherri,” Jensen told her as he heard the door to Jared’s room slam shut behind him. “I’ll have your flight home arranged as soon as possible. What you’re thinking is wrong. Jared wasn’t lying to you, why won’t you believe him?”

The look she gave him was toxic, out of place on the face of the woman he’d thought she was. “I’m going to speak to my son.”

Jensen shook his head. “That’s not going to happen. You’ve said more than enough already, now it’s my turn.” He met her eyes, allowing a glowing trace of his true nature to slip into his gaze. “You’re going to your room. Pack up your things and stay there until it’s time for you to leave. Step out of it and I’ll escort you back in myself and lock the damn door.”

“You - you wouldn’t dare.” She was no longer quite so certain.

He folded his arms across his chest. “Try me.”

She glared at him and for a moment he thought she was going to continue arguing but then she turned and walked towards her room. He watched until she was out of sight before making his way back upstairs, concerned for Jared.

He gave a knock that wasn’t answered and hesitantly opened the door, finding the room empty. His concern grew but then he noticed Jared was standing outside on the terrace.

“Hey.” He went to stand beside him. “You okay?”

Jared didn’t speak, just nodded before pulling in a deep breath. “I’m so sorry for all that.”

“You’ve no reason to be sorry; no reason at all.”

“She never used to be this bad. I mean she’s always been homophobic. There were times when she’d make us cringe. I put it down to a generation thing, y’know, but this…”

“What about your dad?” Jensen wondered.

“Honestly? I’m not sure. I’ve never been sure if he goes along with her just to keep the peace or if he actually agrees with her. I guess I’m partly to blame; I should have said something to her, to dad, about it but I didn’t. I rarely go home these days, it’s easier to phone and just go for the occasional family dinner, when I can’t find an excuse not to. Jeff’s the same, he buries his head when he has to. I guess it’s worse for Jeff; Momma and Annie, his wife, don’t see eye to eye on pretty much everything. They have three kids and Annie worries that momma might pass on some of her opinions to them. I don’t blame her for staying away.” Jared looked at him. “Pretty fucked up, huh?”

Jensen shrugged. “It’s a shame but it’s your mom’s choice. It _does_ explain why you chose not to tell her the truth.”

Jared sniggered. “Well yeah, aliens or gays, which would be worse?”

“Gay aliens?”

It made Jared laugh. “Yep, _so_ not telling her the truth, ever.”

Jensen smiled and rubbed a hand over Jared’s shoulder. “I need to go and speak to Chad about taking her home. Are you gonna be okay? I mean…”

“I know what you mean. I just… I meant it when I said I didn’t want to see her, just see she gets home safe.”

“I will.”

 

It was Tom who opened Chad’s door on Jensen’s knock, Chad was on the phone.

“We heard,” Tom explained. “Chad’s organizing things at the airport. You spent the night in Jared’s room I take it?”

“Yeah,” He went to sit on the couch. “I didn’t think, Jared was aching and tired and his room was the closest.”

“She seemed such a nice woman, who the hell would have guessed she’d go off like that?” Tom shook his head. “How’s Jared?”

“Upset that she wouldn’t listen to him and he’s ashamed of the way she behaved. This was the last thing he needed.”

Tom shrugged. “Are you sure about that? Ultimately cutting ties to home could make things easier or…” He frowned. “Had you already thought of that?”

“If you’re asking whether I orchestrated what happened the answer is no,” Jensen told him. “Does it help the situation? Yes, it does, but it’s not what I wanted for Jared.” He rubbed  at his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. “I was actually thinking of flying down with her, obviously I can’t ask Sam. I thought I might be able to rebuild some bridges.”

“Or you might just burn down whatever there is left,” Tom told him.

He knew Tom wasn’t wrong. “She shouldn’t fly down on her own.”

Chad hung up the phone. “I don’t know man, maybe you should sit this one out.”

Tom nodded. “I agree with Chad and she won’t be alone, Adrianne’s volunteered to fly down with her, it seemed like the best option, she’s getting changed now.”

Jensen nodded gratefully. “She’s an angel, tell her I said so.”

“I will, though she’s probably going to milk this for all the favours she can get. Remember that time in London when she rescued you from countess - whoever she was - at the Savoy?”

“Countess Eudoxia,” Chris chimed in, eyes filled with mirth.

Jensen shuddered at the still vivid memory. “Now _that_ was a determined woman. Thank goodness for Princess… What was Adrianne calling herself?”

Tom laughed. “Princess Eleanor, your betrothed.”

Chris grinned. “That’s it! That was really fucking funny.”

“You know she still has that tiara she insisted you buy her for saving your arse,” Tom told him, “And the matching earrings.”

“Well she’s not getting a matching bracelet.”

“She likes shoes, doesn’t she?” Chad piped up. “Those Maniolo things.”

“Manolo Blahniks.” Tom nodded. “She does indeed, good choice, Chad.”

Jensen held up a finger. “One pair Tom.”

“I’ll do my best but I make no promises.”

“That’s all I ask. I’m going to go see Sam, make sure she’s okay. The two of them really got into it this morning. How long before you leave Chad?”

“An hour, a couple of hours drive down. Aldis is gonna pick her up when we land and take her home. Everything’s arranged.” Chad grinned at him. “Just to let you know, I’m good for shoes.”

“I’m not getting you a tiara,” he deadpanned. “But there’s a bottle of Yamskaya in the bottom left-hand drawer of my desk.”

“This is why I love you man.” Chad grinned.

“Okay.” He got wearily to his feet. “Let me know how things go.”

 

Sam was next on his list. She opened her door with a smile for him before letting him in and engulfing him in a hug that he found himself returning. When she pulled away she gave him an assessing gaze.

“You okay, honey?”

The question surprised him. “Me?”

“I know how important this is, how much this means to you. That damn woman, she just… What the hell is wrong with her?” She bit her lip. “I just never saw that coming.”

“None of us did, not even Jared. She saw what she saw and made up her mind about it.” He shrugged. “Nothing’s going to change that as far as I can see.”

“From what I saw Jared handled it pretty well, considering. Is he okay?”

“Not really. The thing is, he never wanted her to come here in the first place, _I_ was the one who pushed him into it. I should have listened.”

She cocked her head and smiled. “Lesson learned?”

“Yeah.” He returned her smile. “You know I came down here to see how _you_ were. Are you okay?”

“I’m good. No way a woman like that is gonna get to me. It’s Jared I’m worried about. It’s a damn miracle that boy turned out so fine. You should be up there with him, not fussing over me.”

He smiled down at her. “I like fussing over you. You know damn well we’d fall apart without you.”

Sam laughed. “What time is she leaving?”

“Shortly, Chad’s arranging things now. _Not_ that I don’t think you can handle yourself but Adrianne’s going with Sherri on the flight back to Texas, you’ve put up with her enough.”

“I’d have gone.”

“I know that but I don’t want you to, it wouldn’t be fair.”

“Well I don’t exactly have a hankering to be in the woman’s company so you won’t get an argument from me. We should do something, after the wicked witch is gone, maybe a really nice meal. Do you think Jared might be up for that?”

“I would have thought so, anything involving food seems to get his vote.”

“Well good. You let me know and I’ll put something special together for us.”

 “Everything you make is pretty special, you know that, right?” He gave her a peck on the cheek. “Thanks Sam.”

“Don’t mention it, honey. Now go take care of that boy.!

“Will do.” He needed to buy Sam something nice too. Asking her what she’d like never actually worked but he’d find something for her.

 

Jared was sprawled out on the bed asleep when Jensen eventually went back up to his room. He wasn’t surprised, this crap with his mom must have taken a toll. He took a seat at the foot of the bed and regarded him thoughtfully. He’d wanted so much for Jared; for this whole transition to go smoothly and easily. He thought that having Jared’s mother here would be a good thing, despite Jared being less than enthusiastic. He really _should_ have listened.

There were just days now until the full moon; to the culmination of everything he’d worked for. He needed the future of his people to be assured. Nothing else could go wrong. He wouldn’t allow it.

He remembered the first moment he’d actually seen Jared, not in the flesh but in a series of surveillance photographs. He’d studied them more times than could probably been termed healthy. Those photos hadn’t done him justice and had barely given a hint of the sharp, opinionated mind behind the stunning face and body.

He’d wanted to kill Sherri earlier. He’d listened to her spill out all that hate and vitriol and had wanted to wrap his hand around her neck and squeeze until he’d cut off her hate filled words. He would have happily cut off the very air she breathed if it stopped her from ever hurting her son again.

He’d move the family on soon, not far at first. They’d go up to Canada for a year or two to give Jared time to get used to his new self. He’d already sent Chris up there to get things moving. He was due to go back in a few days. Jim was arranging for some of his people to start making their way to Echo Falls, the little town near their Canadian house. The two of them would organise a slow exchange of families between there and Manning Flatts. Jim would move up too of course, if there was a touch of romance brewing between him and Sam he wasn’t going to hinder that in any way.

He wanted to keep an eye on the Padalecki’s too; Sherri more than anyone else. Although there was nothing for Sherri to tell, he didn’t want her badmouthing her son in his home town. He’d be contacting Marcus for his take on Jared’s brother too. He didn’t want to cut off Jared’s contact with his family if he could possibly help it.

“Have you _any_ idea how creepy that is?” Jared’s voice broke into his thoughts.

“What?”

“You just sitting there, staring at me from the bottom of the bed. It’s kinda weird, man.”

“Sorry,” he smiled. “I was just thinking.”

“Creepy stalker thinking?” Jared raised an eyebrow.

“No!” He protested. “Just… Stuff.”

“My mom type stuff?” He asked as he sat up and leaned his back against the headboard.

“She was part of it, yeah.”

“Has she gone yet?”

“They’ll be leaving in about an hour. Adrianne’s going with her and she’ll let us know when they arrive back in Texas. Aldis will pick her up from the airport and make sure she gets home safely.” Jensen sighed. “I owe you an apology.”

“Is this part of the whole thinking thing you were doing?” Jared asked him.

“Yeah. I should have listened to you when you said having her here wasn’t such a good idea.”

Jared nodded. “I get that you were just trying to do the right thing. You had no way of knowing what she’s like. You maybe never would have if she hadn’t walked in on us.”

“Still,” he rubbed a nervous hand over the back of his neck. “I should have listened to you.”

“Yeah, well,” Jared gave him a slow grin. “I’ll remind you of that next time. Have you spoken to her?”

“No, I didn’t want to add any more fuel to the flames.”

He nodded. “I owe everyone an apology, especially Sam.”

Jensen frowned. “You don’t owe anyone anything, and I can assure you no one is expecting you to. It was your mom who turned this into a drama.”

Jared sighed. “She has a talent for that, to be honest.”

“Well, it’s over now and maybe, after she really thinks about it, she’ll come around.”

Jared laughed but it wasn’t a happy sound. “I wouldn’t hold your breath.”

“Fair enough.” He nodded. “Sam wants to make a nice meal for us all later, you feeling up for that, physically I mean?”

“I feel pretty good to be honest, no aches and pains or anything.”

“That’s good.”

“Fuck, I hope so.” He stretched. “I need to get up. Do you mind if I go up and use your shower? It’s not that I don’t like this one…”

“Sure, go ahead. You know…” Jensen hesitated.

“What?”

“Well, I was thinking that, if you wanted to, you could maybe move your things upstairs. I mean it’s not like there wouldn’t be enough room. You don’t have to, no pressure. I just thought maybe…” Jared’s face wasn’t giving anything away and he worried that he’d maybe overreached and was asking too much of him right now. He should have waited, given Jared more time, especially after what had happened with his mom.

He looked up, surprised to find a look of amusement on Jared’s face.

“What?”

“You do know you’re supposed to be all take charge and that kind of thing, right?”

“Yeah, but,” he rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “I’m trying not to mess up here.”

“You’re not. Moving upstairs is a good idea, I…” It was Jared who hesitated this time. “Do you think I could maybe get my stuff from my condo at some point? I know I couldn’t go myself right now. I have to work out what to do with it anyway. I’m not gonna be living there so I could either rent it out or sell it.”

“I can’t see that being a problem.”

Jared nodded slowly. It’s probably best if I speak to Jeff anyway about the whole mom thing so I could ask him if he’ll pack it up for me. If he’s busy, I’ll ask grandma, she’ll arrange it.”

“Aldis is based down there, he could make the arrangements to have your things brought up once they’re packed up.”

“Okay. I’ll take a shower and then I’ll phone Jeff.”

 

Jared slipped on a v-neck t-shirt with his jeans before running his fingers through hair that was pretty much dry. He felt even better after a long shower, revitalised in a way he hadn’t been in quite a while. He moved over to the couch by Jensen’s window and sprawled out comfortably before picking up the phone he’d left there. He knew he had to phone Jeff, talk about their mom. He’d come up with a few reasons not to in the shower but they were all pretty lame excuses for delaying a talk that had been a long time coming.

He pulled Jeff’s number up and grinned, as he always did, at the photo he had there of his brother, drunk off his ass, on his stag night.

The call connected straight away.

“ _Hey_ little brother!” He could hear the kids playing in the background and realised it was the weekend and Jeff was at the house.

“Hey back, how’s it going?”

“Usual chaos, kids going crazy. We’re going to the zoo, which was something I should probably kept as a surprise until we were on the road.”

“I’m not keeping you am I?”

“ _No_ , lots of time. You’ve got mom up there with you in the wilds, haven’t you?”

“She… She should be home later today.”

“I thought she said she was staying for a few days, or have I got that wrong?”

“That was the plan but it hasn’t worked out.”

Jeff’s sigh was audible, even over the phone. “What did she do?”

“We had a barbeque thing last night and...” He hesitated. Let’s say things didn’t go well. Momma told you about the accident?”

“Yeah she did. You okay?”

“Pretty much but I’ve been kind of unsteady on my feet. Jensen, the friend I’m staying with, helped me up to my room last night and momma found us there this morning, half undressed, both passed out in my bed.”

“ _Oh_ shit. Were you doing the whole baby octopus thing you do?”

“Yeah.”

“And I’m guessing she jumped to the wrong conclusion?”

“Big time. She wants me to be sent somewhere to be cured of my gayness and called Jensen an abomination, insulted his family…”

Jeff blew out a long breath. “Well that kind of crap is getting about standard for mom. Are you okay?”

“Yeah and no.” He hesitated. “She’s my momma Jeff, but…”

“Hey, hey. Let’s be honest about this Jared, she’s not been right for a long time now and this fucking minister she’s got herself involved with isn’t helping. She’s had some steaming rows with grandma.”

“Really? What about dad?”

He just fucking goes along with her and that makes her ten times worse. He told Grandma it was just a phase, can you believe that?”

“What did Grandma say?”

“She told dad he needed to get his head out of his ass and find her some psychiatric help. I’ll be honest Jared, I don’t disagree with that. We can’t take the girls around anymore, you just can’t predict what she’s gonna say and I’m just so fucking angry with dad. There’s not a whole lot you or I can do right now.” He heard his brother’s heavy sigh.

“What about this friend you’re staying with?” Jeff asked him.

“Jensen.”

“Jensen,” he repeated. “How did he take it?”

“Better than I did. He tried to have a talk with her earlier but it didn’t go so well. There was no way she was going to listen.”

“He sounds like a decent guy.”

“Yeah he is. Actually, he’s offered me a job.”

“An accounting job?”

“Yeah.”

“What does he do?”

“He owns AA Reknewables.”

Jeff’s voice went up a notch. “The _energy_ company?”

“Yeah. I’m going to be working with his charitable foundations.”

“So I’m guessing that means you’re not coming home anytime soon.”

“No, not for a while. I like it here.” Jared said truthfully, “and I think that the change might do me good.”

“What about your condo?”

“I was thinking about selling it or renting it out.”

“Either way you’ll make good money from it. Why don’t you rent it for a while, maybe for six months and then look at your options again?”

“I was thinking along those lines.” Jared admitted. “I need a favour though.”

“And that would be?”

“I’m still not great on my feet after the accident and…”

“Jared,” Jeff interrupted him. “How serious an accident are we talking here?”

“Nothing bad, I swear. I just get tired and I ache a lot. A couple of months and I’ll be fine.”

“No bullshit?”

“No, I swear.”

“Fair enough, but if I find out you’ve been lying I’ll kick your ass. You hear me, little brother?”

“I hear you.”

“Good. So, what do you need?”

“I need my stuff from the condo. I don’t need any furniture or anything like that, just my personal stuff.”

“I can do that for you but what about shipping it up there?”

“There’s a guy who works for Jensen; his name’s Aldis. He’s based down there. He’s gonna pick mom up from the airport, bring her home.  He’ll take care of all that. If I give you his number you could work out the details with him.”

“That works for me, no problem.”

“I’ll text it to you later. Thanks Jeff.”

“There’s a but included with this.” Jeff told him, firmly.

“A but?”

“Yeah. You need to promise me that you’re gonna keep in touch, okay? We’re pretty much all we’ve got these days.”

“I will, I promise, and I’ll be down to see you guys once I’m back on my feet You could come visit too.”

“We’ll do that but maybe we should give your friend Jensen and his family some time to get over mom’s visit first.”

Jared laughed. “Yeah, there is that.”

“So, you’re gonna be okay?”

“Yeah,” Jared found himself nodding. “I think I am and if I’m not I know where to come.”

“Damn right you do!”

“Okay. I need food and you need to get ready for the zoo. You guys have a great time and give my love to Annie and the girls.”

“Will do. Talk to you soon, little brother.”

“Talk to you soon. Bye.”

 

It was quiet when Jared went downstairs but he could hear the low buzz of voices coming from outside and figured they were sitting around the pool. There was no sign of his momma and he pondered whether to go and speak to her but he figured he was more likely to make things worse than better. It might be a better idea to go and speak to Sam. He owed her an apology after his momma’s rant this morning. She wasn’t in the kitchen, so he made his way to her door and knocked.

He wasn’t exactly sure how she’d react. He figured she must be pretty pissed after what went on. It came as quite a surprise then when Sam opened the door at his knock and pulled him down for a hug.

When she pulled away she didn’t release him straight away but peered into his eyes, a gentle, curious expression on her face. “Are you okay honey?”

“That’s what I came here to ask you. I’m so sorry Sam. There are _no_ excuses for the way she behaved and…”

And absolutely no reason for you to be apologising to me.”

“But she...”

Sam took his hand and guided him inside, shutting the door behind him. “All she did honey was make a damn fool of herself, end of story. You’re not responsible for her or for the things she said.”

Jared breathed out a sigh of relief. “Thank you. I mean that.”

She patted his cheek. “I know you do and because of that I also know that, at some point your mom was a good mother to you. You’re a fine young man Jared Padalecki.”

He felt a blush heat his cheeks and saw Sam’s smile broaden. “Have you spoken to her since?”

“I thought about it but I think it’s too soon for us to talk. She can hold onto things for a while.”

Sam nodded. “It’s probably best to leave things alone for a while then, see what comes when she thinks things through. Adrianne’s going to fly down with your mom, I did offer but, to be honest, I can’t say I’m sorry she’d already volunteered.”

Jared grinned. “I get that, I really do.”

“Has she always been this way?” Sam asked him.

“She’s never been exactly easy going but… I phoned my brother earlier, talked to him about it. She’s listening to this new preacher at her church and he thinks it’s making her worse. My brother’s wife, Annie, won’t let their three little girls near her because of some of the things she’s been saying.”

“What about your dad?”

“Apparently he thinks it’s a phase. His usual reaction, to whatever she says or does, tends to be _‘it’s just your momma’s way, boy’_.”

“Head in the sand stuff, huh?”

“He’s always been the same, always taken her side, even when we were kids.” Jared shook his head. “Anything for an easy life.”

“That’s a damn shame if you ask me. Hopefully, your mom will come to realise just how much she’s missing out on.”

Jared wasn’t too sure about that. “Jensen said you have children.” It wasn’t the most subtle change of subject but it made Sam smile fondly.

“That I do; nine boys and seven girls scattered all over the damn globe.”

“Wow! Do you see them much?”

“As often as I can. We Skype quite a bit too.”

“And I’m guessing you have grandchildren?”

“A whole heap of ‘em. I have pictures if you want to see.”

Jared smiled and nodded. “I’d love to.”

It was quite a while later when Sam put away the photograph albums while he finished his coffee. Sam didn’t just have photos, she had sketches and paintings of her family and a host of fascinating stories to go with them.

“Have I bored the hell out of you?” She asked him when she came back into the room.

“No,” he shook his head, “I’ve really enjoyed looking through the albums and I loved all the stories. I thought Grandma’s photographs were pretty interesting, but these are amazing. Thank you for sharing them with me. It’s been fun,” He admitted.

“Well that’s good to hear. Now, how about the two of us go out into the sunshine and we’ll see what the others are up to?”

He nodded, standing up and offering her his arm. “May I escort you, Samantha?”

“You certainly may.”

Jensen, Tom, Chris, Jason and Kane were sat outside. Jared couldn’t help feeling a little trepidation as they joined them. Sam might have accepted his apology for his momma’s behaviour but that didn’t mean the others would.

“And what have you two been up to?” Jason greeted them with a broad grin as they stepped out into the sun.

“Chatting and looking at photographs over coffee.” Jared told them.

Kane raised an eyebrow. “For three, nearly four hours?”

“What?” Jared hadn’t realised how much time had passed. “Has mom gone?”

Jensen nodded. “She refused to say a word to anyone. I…”

He nodded, cutting Jensen off. “It’s probably better I wasn’t around.” He doubted it would have been a fond goodbye and he didn’t want another scene.

“She’ll be fine with Adrianne,” Jensen assured him. “And Aldis will drive her right to the door.”

Jared nodded. “Thanks for that.”

“I should go and start making dinner,” Sam told them and started to get up again.

Jensen reached over to pat her hand. “That’s all in hand Sam, apparently. We were just waiting for you two.”

Jason nodded. “And now you’re both here can you get off your ass Kane, before we all starve to death.”

“Says the man who ate our collective weight in steak and ribs last night,” Tom pointed out.

“Didn’t notice you out here first thing this morning, cleaning the deck with me.”

“The spirit was willing…”

“Just not willing enough to come and help us, eh mate?” Chris shook his head.

“Yeah, yeah.” Kane got to his feet. “Tom, will you see to the drinks or do I have to ask Jensen?”

“Heaven forbid, I’m on it.”

Jensen glared at them. “You know, I’m perfectly capable of serving drinks.”

“Yes you are honey, you pour the best black coffee with no sugar any of us have ever had.”

“You wound me Samantha, you really do.”

The hurt, wounded look on Jensen’s face made Jared grin. “Which would you rather be doing?” He asked him, “Sitting out here in the sun or making drinks for everyone.”

Jensen smiled. “You make a good point, Padalecki. Did you manage to get through to your brother?”

He nodded. “We had a pretty good talk. Jeff’s gonna pack up my stuff for me and I’m going to rent out my place. I’ll leave the furniture, it’s not very old and the condo’s in a good area so there shouldn’t be any problem finding a tenant. I need to text Jeff with Aldis’s number.”

Jensen nodded. “I’ll get that for you when we go back inside.”

The dinner Kane had made turned out to be pasta dish, his speciality by all accounts and it was rich and tasty enough for him to accept second helpings. No one mentioned his mom but it didn’t feel like they were avoiding the subject either and for the first time, in what felt like forever, Jared felt pretty good about things. After eating and a doze in the sun they ended up in the pool. Jensen swam like a damn fish and after being trounced by him in more than a couple of races Jared went back to swimming leisurely lengths between working on his tan.”

It wasn’t until Chad and Adrianne returned in the evening that Jared’s thoughts turned back to his momma.

“How was she?” He asked Adrianne.

She shrugged. “Honestly Jared, I have no clue. She didn’t actually speak to me.”

Jared frowned. “At all?”

“Not a word. I made a couple of attempts at conversation, but she just ignored me. It was a little strange.” She frowned. “I sent a text to Aldis to confirm she got home safely, she didn’t speak to him either.”

Jared shrugged. “I can’t say I’m surprised but I’m sorry she chose to be that way with you both,” He told Adrianne.

“That kind of thing doesn’t bother me. To be honest I had my head buried in a book the entire time. I found it on the plane.”

“Didn’t _you_ have some book or other on the plane?” Kane asked Jared.

He nodded. “Searching Souls by Emmanuelle Vaugier.”

“That’s the one!” Adrianne grinned. “It’s really good, I’ve only got a couple of chapters left to read.”

“Well don’t tell me how it ends, I never did get to finish it.”

“I’ll finish it off in bed tonight and let you have it back in the morning, if that’s okay?”

Tom frowned. “I thought we’d banned reading in bed”

“ _You_ banned reading in bed, baby, not me. I’m thinking though that if reading’s banned then there might be a few other things we could ban from the bed…”

“Yeah seriously, you should consider that, those fucking walls aren’t as thick as you might think!” Kane pointed out.

“Too fucking true!” Chris backed him up. “There’s a limit to how many nights of _‘Oh Adrianne, do that again, please!’_ that the rest of us can take, mate.”

“You could actually find partners of your own,” Tom argued. “It’s been a while for the three of you.”

“Tom has a point,” Jensen agreed.

“It’s a big commitment,” Chris said, serious for once. “I’m not sure I’m ready for that, yet.”

Kane sighed. “It’s all about finding the right woman.”

“What about Kim?” Sam asked him. Jared remembered meeting her briefly when he first arrived. “I thought you were kind of on the cusp of something.”

“We’re friends. I like her,” he admitted.

“Well that’s half the battle honey, liking someone. You should call her, just to say hi. Lay some foundations, then once you’re up at Echo Falls…”

Kane smiled. “Maybe I should.”

“Can’t hurt,” Adrianne told him. “What about you Chad?”

“My settling down days are a while off just yet. I’m not looking for Miss Right…”

“If you do the Miss Right Now joke I _will_ end you!” Adrianne warned him.

Chad laughed. “Let’s just call me a free agent for the foreseeable future.”

Jason sighed. “I guess that’s me too.”

“No luck with changing Lisa’s mind?” Jensen asked him.

He shook his head. “Completely off the table. Things were said at the barbeque that maybe needed saying, but they weren’t good.”

“You’re still friends though, aren’t you?” Tom asked.

“Nope. What it boils down to is that she wants what I can’t give her and her biological clock’s ticking. I accept that, and I get it. I made a last-ditch effort to talk her into moving on with us and I guess I pushed it too much. We’d both had a few drinks and she just laid out the way she saw things between us on the line for me. It wasn’t what I expected and it hurt like fuck.”

“Have you been up to see her since?” Jensen asked him.

He shook his head. “To be honest, there’s not a lot of point but I’d have liked us to finish things as friends.”

“I can’t say I’ve ever known that to work, not really,” Jared told him. “Not that I was ever any fuc…” He glanced at Sam. “Err, any damn good at relationships, or friendships for that matter.” he amended.

“Really?” Sam was surprised. “I wouldn’t have thought that.”

“I never wanted anything even vaguely long term. One-night stands have been pretty much my thing over the past few years; sex only, no ties, no commitments. I guess I felt disconnected.” He shrugged.

“That’s probably down to your biology,” Jason told him. “Nature has its ways, as cliched as that might sound.”

“It does,” he grinned. “But I get it.”

Jared decided to turn in as it began to get dark. It had been a good day for him, at least physically but the whole business with his momma still kept playing over in his mind.

“I’ll be up soon,” Jensen told him. “I have an email to finish that I should have sent this morning, but it shouldn’t take me long.”

He nodded. “No problem, I need to get my shaving things and some clothes together for the morning. I’ll see you later,” he told him, giving the others a wave.

A chorus of “Night, Jared,” followed him inside.

 

“Are you going to be okay?” Jensen asked Jason, once the others made their way inside leaving the two of them alone.

He nodded. “I never saw it coming and, to be honest, it really fucking stung, y’know?” Jason sighed. “This was a whole new side to her that I’d never seen before.”

 “Do you love her?”

“I like her, a hell of a lot, but no,” he admitted, “I don’t love her. And before you start a plenty more fish in the sea speech, _don’t_ or I _will_ punch you in the face.”

“Consider that speech cancelled then. Shame, I was gonna put some Dolly Parton on, light a couple of candles…” Jensen smiled.

“Fuck you!” Jason grinned.

“That’s my boy!”

“Your boy is upstairs, why in hell aren’t you up there with him? It’s not been a good couple of days for him since his mom graced us all with her presence.”

Jensen chuckled. “It’s fair to say she really _wasn’t_ what I was expecting. Did you sense how uncertain Jared was when he walked out with Sam earlier?”

Jason nodded. “Boy doesn’t hide much. That’s another reason why you should be upstairs with him and not shooting the shit with me.”

“You’re right.” Jensen got to his feet. “What are you gonna do?”

“I’m gonna pour myself a couple of fingers of bourbon then trawl that dating site Chad told me about.”

“ _What_?”

“I’m going to fucking bed, where you should be, idiot.” He stood up. “Night, man.”

“Night.”

 

Despite the size of Jensen’s bed, Jared had managed to gravitate right into the center. Jensen let out a sigh, “Fantastic.”

He stripped off his clothes as he made his way to the shower, leaving them where they fell to pick up later.

Jared’s mom’s visit had been something of a disaster. The idea that Jared might somehow feel responsible for her behaviour, guilty even, worried him. The last thing he wanted was for him to feel that way, he’d been through more than enough. Jared had clearly been something of a loner, which didn’t really fit the man he’d come to know. He needed the love and protection of a family, and in these last days, leading to the full moon, Jensen knew it was his duty to make sure he knew he had that. He’d fucked it up, so far, but he’d make it right.

He stepped into the shower, letting the force of the water beat down on him. He wished it was this easy to wash away the mistakes he’d made, start afresh. He couldn’t do that but perhaps he could make things better.

He finished his shower and towelled off before making his way to the bed they shared. Jared had barely moved, still hugging the centre of the bed. He stirred, eyes flickering as Jensen slipped in beside him.

“Time’s it?”

“Late,” he told him, snaking an arm around his waist. “Go back to sleep.”

One eye opened fully, then the other, their gaze settling on him. “Did you finish your email?”

“No.” He’d completely forgotten about the damn thing. “I ended up having a heart to heart with Jason.”

“What about?”

“Lisa. You know he was hoping she might come with us when we move but she won’t. Their talk about it didn’t go so well. Things were said, you know?”

Jared nodded. “That’s a shame.” He shuffled a little, plumping up his pillow. “When will we move from here?”

“Not for a while, don’t worry.”

“I’m not, not really.” He sat up a little. “The ties I have to home; to work, to friends – they were never all that important to me. My relationship with momma… Well, you’ve had first hand experience of that. She’s ripped apart what few ties I had left to her and dad. I’m still close to Jeff though, and I’m still going to want to see him, Annie and the kids. Grandma, too.”

“You’ve not told me much about her.”

“She’s dad’s mom, but he’s nothing like her. Grandma’s pretty amazing, she doesn’t take any shit from mom. I think Jeff and I spent more time at her house when we were growing up, than we did at home. She’s kind of a force of nature.” He smiled, “She calls Jeff Bean.”

“Bean?”

“It’s short for string-bean. My brother’s pretty tall, not far off seven foot.”

Jensen whistled, “Impressive! Does she have a pet name for you?”

Jared nodded.

“Are you going to tell me what it is?”

“It’s kind of embarrassing,” he admitted.

“That’s what I was hoping.” He grinned. “So, what is it?”

“She calls me lamb.” A blush coloured his cheeks. “And if I hear any of the others call me that I will find a way to fucking end you!”

“Don’t be like that,” Jensen teased. “It’s kinda cute.”

“I don’t do cute and my threat stands. Got that?”

“You know there are times when you’re just no fun at all.”

“Asshole!”

He laughed. “I promise not to tell the others.”

“Thank you. You could tell me about the house in Canada, what’s it like?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be tired?”

“I was, now I’m wide awake. Tell me about it.”

“It’s not that dissimilar to this one. It’s bigger and it fits into the landscape better. It’s off the tourist route too, unlike this house. Our people have a town nearby, Echo Falls. You’ll like it there; it has a kind of frontier look to it and it’s not far from the house.”

“It sounds good.”

“It is. It’s a place where we can be ourselves.”

“What about…” Jared began.

“Whatever it is, ask me tomorrow. You need to get some sleep and so do I, so move over, you’re hogging the bed.”

“I like this bed.”

“Good, let’s sleep in it.”

“I’m wide awake now.”

“Not for long.” He rubbed a hand slowly over Jared’s abs, surprised when Jared rested a hand over the top of his. “Jared?”

“It feels good, don’t stop.”

“Don’t stop moving or don’t stop touching?”

“B-both, I guess.”

“You guess?” Jensen needed to hear more than that.

“Want. I don’t want you to stop, okay?”

He nodded. “I don’t want to stop either, but if I do something you don’t like you have to tell me Jared.”

“I will.”

“Roll onto your side, your back to me.” There was a brief moment of hesitation before Jared did as he asked. “I like your back,” Jensen told him before licking a stripe up the centre of his shoulder blades. “Not that I don’t like your front, it’s pretty much a work of art, but this trail here…” He kissed his way slowly down the length of Jared’s spine, one hand on his shoulder, the other lightly kneading the curve of his ass. “I love it.”

Jared’s scent was strong like this and he could almost taste his emotions; arousal, fear, even a touch of shame.

“There’s nothing wrong with letting yourself be touched Jared. It’s a natural thing to want that, to let yourself enjoy it. Just relax.”

“I’m trying.” He gritted out.

Jensen squeezed his shoulder. “It’s not a challenge Jared, not something you need to overcome or work through. It’s about pleasure, yours and mine. There’s no pressure on either of us to do anything.”

Jared sighed. “I want to try, I just don’t know… It’s a bit like being that nervous kid again.”

Jensen could work with that. “Roll onto your back, that might feel easier.”

Again, Jared did as he was asked, he was a little pink cheeked but that spike of fear had eased a little.

“Better?” He wondered.

“Yeah, I…” He hesitated. “It’s better when I can see you.”

“There are no rules to this Jared, except for the ones you want to make. We could just go to sleep.” He invited.

“Have you… Have you been with many men?”

He nodded. “Yeah, men and women, over the years.”

“I’ve never been interested in men,” Jared admitted. “Just women.”

“I know. Your scent makes you easy to read and you don’t know how to control that yet.”

Jared raised an eyebrow. “I can control the way I smell?”

Jensen laughed. “Your scent, not your smell. If you haven’t washed for a week you’re gonna smell, stink but your scent is something different. Your scent gives away your feelings and emotions. It can reveal love and attraction, hate, anger, fear. With practice you’ll learn to hide what your scent reveals. It will come as naturally to you as extending your vision and your hearing is becoming,” he explained. “So, if I was to say - kiss you, like this…”

He leaned over slowly, keeping his eyes fixed on Jared’s and letting his tongue tease over that expressive mouth, delighted when Jared let him in. For a moment the kiss was purely one sided but then Jared surged up from the bed, one large hand cradling the back of Jensen’s head, the other kneading his shoulder as he deepened the kiss.

He’d honestly been expecting a punch in the face but instead this was a long, easy kiss, made all the better by the feel of Jared’s cock hardening as it pressed against his thigh.

It was Jared who eventually broke their kiss but his hand remained on Jensen’s shoulder and those prismatic, expressive eyes stayed locked onto his.

“So,” Jared asked him; “I could learn to hide how I felt about that kiss?”

“You could,” he nodded, “But I’d prefer you never did.”

“Not planning on it.” Jared yawned.

“How about we hold that thought for later? It’s late and we could both use the sleep.”

“That’s true.” Jared smiled. “Good night.”

Jensen spooned in behind him. “Night Jared.”

____________________________________

 

The days until the full moon began to slip away quickly for Jared. It was a date he found himself counting down to obsessively and endlessly on his phone. Not that he needed to, to be honest. He could feel it, day or night, cloudy or dark, as if the moon’s draw was hot-wired through his entire being.

He felt different. His body was filled with a boundless energy he had no control over. He swam countless lengths of the pool, racing anyone who would oblige him. He worked out ferociously in the gym and had taken to cross country running with Jensen. Sometimes they would stop, in the middle of grasses that were waist high or deep in the forest and Jensen would teach him how to extend his senses further; follow the paths of animals both large and ridiculously small. At other times he would play a ramped-up version of children’s hide and seek with Jensen, Jason or Kane. He’d done a little boxing in college, didn’t consider himself half bad at it, but sparring with Tom was something on a whole other level. Tom was fast and he hit hard, with a ferocity Jared struggled to defend himself against. He spent more time on his ass than on his feet, but he was improving.

He was ravenous too, a food junkie, and Sam was his more than delighted supplier. He sat back after finishing his third, substantial helping of apple pie and ice-cream to find Jason’s smiling eyes fixed on him.

“What?”

He grinned. “How many days have you got left?”

“Just two.”

Jason raised an eyebrow at Sam, who was sat with them. “Will the food stocks last out or do we need to airlift in supplies?”

Sam frowned. “Stop teasing, you’re going to give poor Jared a complex.”

“God, I’m sorry Sam. I’m just… I feel hungry all the damn time.”

“Your body needs the extra calories for the change, it’s just a process. Once it’s over you’ll be down to your usual two enormous portions of everything in sight, don’t worry.” Jensen’s smile was downright evil.

“And you can f-flip off too!”

 

Jared woke with the sun on the day of the full moon, crossing to the windows to gaze out at a sky that was already a perfect blue with barely a cloud in sight. He slid open one of the huge windows, careless of the fact that he was naked, and stepped out onto the terrace. It was already warm, the breeze barely noticeable. It had all the makings of a scorching hot day, a lazy day, he decided. He hadn’t had one of those in a while.

“Why are you awake?” Jensen’s voice startled him, coming from right beside him. He hadn’t heard or even sensed him move from the bed.

“Could you maybe try slapping your feet down or something? I swear you can fucking levitate.

Jensen regarded him with that usual bleary-eyed morning expression look that made him look like a kid.

“I have skills and I’m not a sasquatch. Why _are_ you up?”

“Because it’s light, because we sleep in a glass room and because the last one to come to bed last night forgot to mist the windows.”

“It slipped my mind, sorry.”

“There aren’t glass ceilings in the new house are there?” They might look pretty good, but Jared wasn’t a fan.

“I’m pretty sure not.”

“ _Pretty_ sure, you don’t _know_?”

“It’s early, I’m still in sleep mode.” He scratched his head. “There’s glass, a lot of glass, but I think we’re good on the whole glass ceiling thing. Happy?”

Jared shrugged. “We’ll see.”

“So, as we’re up ridiculously early and the chances of anyone making us both breakfast is kinda slim…”

“You know I’m more than capable of making us breakfast, even if you’re not.”

Jensen quirked an eyebrow at him. “In _Sam’s_ kitchen?”

Jared thought about it. “Valid point. So what do you want to…”

Jensen grabbed his wrist. “I think we should make out in the shower. Come on, it’s good clean fun,” he grinned.

The joke was pretty lame, but Jared wasn’t about to argue. After a shaky start their make-out sessions had gone from tentative to pretty fucking epic.

Jensen was a good-looking man; male model attractive, and Jared found himself wanting him more every day. Like this, underneath the shower spray, ridiculously long lashes wet, thick and dark around those impossibly green eyes, he was truly otherworldly. His muscle wasn’t as cut but there was no denying the power in that body, smoothed by golden skin that was dusted with freckles.

Jared had never been interested in a man before. He was aware that some guys were attractive, hell, he’d been hit on by a few himself, and while it didn’t bother him, he’d never been remotely interested.

“You’re day dreaming,” Jensen told him, cupping his face in both hands and pulling him in down for a slow, easy kiss. If kissing was an art form then Jensen could well be its master. He was tender and yet greedy, gentle yet demanding and Jared couldn’t get enough of the feel of his mouth, his lips, his teeth and tongue. Women didn’t kiss like this, at least no one he’d ever kissed, and he’d kissed his fair share of women.

“You need to stop thinking.” Jensen ran strong, blunt fingers down his torso until they rested at his waist. “Let me help you with that.”

Jensen was on his knees before Jared even realised what he intended.

“Y-you don’t have to…”

“But, I want to.”

Just the thought of it was making his cock pay attention and, even though he was expecting it, the light touch of Jensen’s fingers was electrifying.

“Beautiful,” Jensen told him. “So fucking beautiful.”

He palmed Jared’s balls and then began to gently massage them. It pulled a deep groan of pleasure out of Jared.

He looked down at Jensen and found those deep green eyes staring back at him, saw the broad smile cross his face before he licked those full, expressive lips and slowly began to take in Jared’s length. The sensation had him gasping for air.

Jared wasn’t a small man and his cock was proportional, but Jensen slowly took him all the way in, hands resting lightly on his upper thighs. It wasn’t like this was new to Jared, but it was a whole new experience with a man, someone who knew exactly what to do to make this good. Too fucking good! This was a hot wet salacious pleasure that Jared had no control over. He found himself babbling endearments and curses, his whole body alight with pleasure. It was too much, and yet, not enough, at the same time. He knew he wasn’t going to last very long. He could feel his release building rapidly as he stammered out Jensen’s name in warning.

He’d never come so hard in his life and suddenly he was a marionette with his strings cut but Jensen was there, catching him, holding him. There was a spattering of come across Jensen’s lips and Jared watched, hypnotised, as Jensen licked it off.

“Holy shit!”

Jensen laughed. “Worth getting up early for?”

“Absolutely,” he nodded and then hesitated.

“What is it?”

Jared shook his head. “It’s nothing, I just… I’m not sure I can return the favour. This is all new to me and…”

“You’re overthinking things. This was me giving to you. I didn’t do it because I wanted you to reciprocate, I did it because I like it and I wanted you to enjoy it. If, at some point in time, you feel like you want to try it, that’s fine, but it you don’t that’s okay too.”

Jared nodded. “Thanks.”

“Can we shower without the drama now?” Jensen smiled.

They washed each other, taking their time and Jared found himself relaxing a little. Not completely though; questions were building up in the back of his mind, questions about what would happen that night but he couldn’t bring himself to voice them. He knew a part of him was in denial, doing everything it could to push back those thoughts, and the fear that was wound into a tight, churning ball in his gut, urging him to get as far away from here and from Jensen, as he could.

He dried off and dressed mechanically, feeling Jensen’s eyes on him, but he couldn’t look at him, not now.

“Jared?” Jensen didn’t move any closer to him but that calm, spicy scent settled over him. “There’s nothing for you to fear, I promise you.”

“Nothing?” He had trouble believing that.

“If you want to leave, I can’t do anything to stop you but… He paused. “Think of the consequences if you do. Is the fear you’re feeling really worth dying for? You have a long life ahead of you and I’ll do everything in my power to make it a good life. Don’t throw that away.”

“I’m afraid,” Jared admitted, his hands balling into fists at his sides. I’m not sure if I can do this, if I can be what you want me to be.”

“Trust me Jared, please. That’s all I ask. If you can’t do that then I understand and, like I said, I won’t stop you from leaving if that’s what you decide.” He walked over to the door. “I’m going downstairs to see if there’s any breakfast ready. I…” Jensen hesitated, his back turned to Jared. “Maybe I’ll see you later?”

 

Only Kane was up when he went downstairs. He didn’t say anything as Jensen took a seat at the breakfast bar, he just poured them both a cup of coffee. It was Jensen who eventually broke the silence between them.

“He’s afraid.”

“That’s not a surprise is it? Who the hell wouldn’t be?”

“I said I wouldn’t stop him if he decided to leave.”

Kane nodded. “Did you mean that?”

“Of _course_ I did.”

“Jared’s a good kid. He has a mind of his own, that’s one of the reasons I like him. He’s no fool either.”

“If he goes…”

“Then we’re fucked, end of story and Jared…”

“He’ll die Kane and it will be…”

“His decision, not something you should try and take away from him.”

“I could never do that,” Jensen admitted. He took a drink of his coffee. “I-I thought that things were okay, more than okay. We seem to have gotten so close, things felt easy between us.”

“Do you love him?” Kane asked.

“I always thought that was a human thing, love,” He admitted. “It wasn’t a word I knew when I was young. My birth-father spoke to me of bonds, ties and sharing, of the knowing that continued to grow and deepen over the years.”

“Not to sound like a sixteen year old girl but, don’t you think that, physical part aside, that’s what love’s all about.” Kane asked him. “Maybe your birth-father got it right? In my experience, humans tend to bandy that word about too much, cheapen it to some extent. To me, loves the whole package; all or nothing. So I’ll ask you again; do you love Jared?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I do. That’s why, if it comes down to it, I’ll let him go. It’s Jared’s choice.”

“He’ll make the right one,” Kane assured him.

Jensen nodded again and got to his feet, barely touched coffee forgotten. “I think I’ll go sit by the pool for a while, enjoy a little early morning quiet before the others get up.”

“Want me to bring you out some breakfast?”

“No.” Food was the last thing he wanted. “I’m good, but thanks.”

It was a beautiful morning, sky a stunning blue with whisps of cloud that were already feathering apart and would be gone soon enough. He’d always liked this time in the morning, liked sitting out here to enjoy it. The gentle ripples of the pool sparkled in the sun, the birds had already found their voices and the spectacular vista of the Rockies stood out clear and bright. Usually it grounded him, gave weight to the reason they were here and everything he wanted to achieve. He just wasn’t sure if that reason had meaning for him anymore, not without Jared to share it.

He stayed out there, listened as the others began to stir, could feel their eagerness, excitement for the day. Things he simply couldn’t share, couldn’t face and didn’t want them to have. He let his mood settle over them too and he just couldn’t bring himself to reign it in. He just couldn’t care enough.

“Do you want to stop that whole ‘wet blanket’ thing you’ve got going for you?” Jared’s sharp voice startled him some time later. “You didn’t even hear me coming, did you?”

Jensen looked up at him. “Are you packed?”

He shook his head. “I’d only be packed if I was going somewhere and I’m not. What I am is scared, more scared than I’ve ever been in my life. I need to deal with that and I need you to help me because I’m not fucking suicidal and…”

“And?”

“You, _us_ … It matters to me. Now, can you lift this whole umbrella of doom shit you have going on, before someone offs themselves?”

“You’re staying?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, taking a seat opposite Jensen’s. “It turns out I’m in a relationship, the longest relationship I’ve ever had, which, considering my track record, isn’t all that long but I’m willing to take a chance on it.” He raked his fingers through his long hair. “You’re making me sound like one of those damsels in distress from one of my momma’s shitty books.”

Jensen grinned. “So that makes me?”

“Someone I’m doing my best to fucking trust!”

“You can trust me, you need to always remember that, that and the fact that I will never intentionally do anything to hurt you. When this started it was all about my people, my race; about finding you so that I could ensure their future and not see them fade away, as though our home world had never existed, wasn’t even a memory. I never expected it to become so much more than that. I never thought that finding you, knowing you, being with you would become so important to me that…”

“You were willing to let me go?”

Jensen nodded.

A quiet cough from the doorway interrupted them. “I truly hate to break this up,” Kane told them, “But there’s breakfast and erm, the other things…”

Jared frowned. “Other things?”

“It’s a tradition,” Jensen scratched awkwardly at the back of his neck. “An ancient one. We’ve adapted it, kinda. You’ll see, come on.”

Jared looked a little suspicious, but he followed Jensen anyway, taking a seat beside him at the table. Everyone joined them, even Sam came out of the kitchen and took her place. The only one not seated was Adrianne, who stood beside the table, a huge grin on her face and her scent brimming over with excitement.

“What’s going on?” Jared wanted to know.

“Like I said, it’s a tradition. When the High Alpha took his mate the immediate family would provide for him.”

“You get gifts, basically,” Adrianne explained, cutting Jensen off.

Jared looked at Jensen sceptically. “Why?”

“Because it’s an incredibly rare event,” he explained. “We don’t actually need to provide for you, as such. You pretty much _have_ everything you need, but this is a part of our heritage so we’ve adapted it to suit the occasion.”

“This is a huge deal for our people,” Jason told him. “Most will celebrate it, in some way or another, even though they have to hide what it’s truly about.”

“They, they know about me?” The idea was a little disturbing.

“Not in any specific way,” Jensen rushed to reassure him. “But they know I’ve found you and that’s important to them.”

Jared pulled in a deep breath. “Okay then, I guess.” Jared hadn’t expected anything like this, the whole thing was kind of overwhelming, but Adrianne’s giddy excitement and the grounding touch of Jensen’s hand, as it rested on his knee, calmed him a little.

“Okay, first one.” Adrianne handed him a neatly wrapped box.

“From Aldis.” Jared read the tag.

“He’s sorry he can’t be here,” Jensen explained. “He still has things to deal with in Texas.

Biting his lip, Jared opened the gift and smiled. “Ray Bans!” he announced.

“Okay, so Jason, you’re up next.” Adrianne told him.

“Mine’s a two parter,” he explained. “See the boxes over there?”

Jared hadn’t actually noticed them until they were pointed out to him.

“They’re the first part, fishing gear. There’s some great fishing up around Echo Falls and I’d appreciate some decent company. That’s presuming you have a passport.”

Jensen stared at him, eyes wide. “I never thought to ask! _Do_ you?”

Jared nodded. “Yeah, a few of us went to Cancun last year, I’m good.”

“Crisis averted then,” Jason told them. “At least for the second part you won’t need a passport, though you’re gonna have to wait for a few more weeks, but…”

“It’s a puppy!” Adrianne cut Jason off. “You get to choose a puppy!”

Tom sighed, closing his eyes. “You know, we’ve talked about this sweetheart.”

“Oh, _oh_ Jason, I’m sorry, really I am!”

“No harm done,” he smiled. “The pups aren’t old enough to be separated from their mother just yet but we can take a drive down to Manning Flatts in a couple of days and you can have first choice of the litter. That’s if you like dogs.”

“We had a dog when we were kids. His name was Moby, he was a gift from grandma. Mom didn’t want him, she got into this huge argument with grandma, but we got to keep him. After he died momma wouldn’t let us have another but I always wanted a dog of my own, just couldn’t have one with working full time and living in the apartment.

“Are you guys _okay_ with having a dog around?”

“Absolutely,” Jensen told him.

“Dogs love us, man,” Chad grinned.

The gifts were pretty amazing and Jared found himself struck speechless, more than once. He’d always had a thing for watches, not that he could afford a really good one, but now he had two; a Rolex from Adrianne and a Tag Heuer from Jim. Chad had bought him a Montblanc fountain pen and he had a backgammon set from Kim. There was a cashmere sweater, scarf and beanie from Sam, a stock portfolio from Tom, a hand carved chess set from Chris and an acoustic guitar from Kane.

“Do you play?” Jensen asked him.

He nodded. “Not brilliantly but I’m not too bad. I have a guitar at the apartment but this is a beauty, thanks Kane.”

“No problem. The four of us will have to get together and jam.”

There were other gifts, all well thought out and a totally unexpected.

“That leaves one more,” Jensen told him. He stood up and beckoned at Jared. “Come on.”

He led him out of the front door, the others following. Parked right outside was a shiny, dark blue sportscar.

“This is the Aston Martin DBAA. We worked together with Aston Martin to produce the first totally eco-friendly sports car,” Jensen told him. “The engine, the chassis, even the tires are totally clean and incredibly safe. It’s fast, so _don’t_ drive the damn thing into the ravine.”

“This is mine?” Jared stared at him.

“I knew you didn’t have a car of your own, so…”

“Man, that’s…” He didn’t know what to say.

“All our vehicles will be replaced by eco models before we go to Echo Falls, but this is the jewel in the crown. It has biometric locking, ignition and a flow particulate…”

“And a manual that’s probably going to take you a couple of weeks to read before you’re ready to start the fucking engine,” Kane added. “It’s kinda pretty though, right?”

“It’s stunning,” Jared told him. “Jensen, I… Thank you.”

He nodded, squeezing Jared’s shoulder.

“Well, I hate to break up the party,” Sam told them, “But breakfast?”

Jensen nodded. “Let’s eat.”

After breakfast, when Jared had given his thanks and hugs to everyone, and Jensen had helped him take his things upstairs, the two of them went out for a walk. They walked for more than a couple of hours, talking about the car and various other things before they chose a place where they could sit for a while.

“I’m guessing we’re out here to talk about tonight, aren’t we?” Jared asked him.

He nodded. “I thought it might be easier out here, away from the others and they have things to do, to prepare.” His green eyes captured Jared’s. “Do you remember the night I claimed you?”

“Just bits and pieces,” he admitted. He could remember snapshots really, little else. He remembered the pain of being moved, his own screams… He remembered the moon, impossibly bright and so huge that it had seemed all around him. He reached up, fingers touching where Jensen had bitten him. The marks were barely there now, just slightly raised, pin prick marks, but they were incredibly sensitive.

“I remember the bite,” he told Jensen. “A little at least. The thing I remember most is the moon.”

Jensen nodded. “It’s right that you should remember that. The moon gives our people power, strength, even when it isn’t visible. I don’t know why, the scientists on our home world never came close to understanding it. On nights like tonight, when the moon is full, it calls to the other side our nature, a side you haven’t seen. It changes us, it will change me but that’s not something you should be afraid of, it will still _be_ me. It’s vital that you remember that.”

“Will I change?”

“You will, but honestly, how much I don’t know. Part of you has already changed from that first bite.” He frowned. “My birth father never truly changed but he became faster, stronger as far as I remember.

Jared thought about that. “Why is it just me, why not Jeff, my mom, my dad or whatever?”

“You’re a biological one off. I guess that’s probably the easiest way to explain it. You might have the same features as your birth family, but nature took over somehow, made you different, unique,” he explained. “I don’t have all the answers for you; I wish I did. There’s only ever one omega for the High Alpha. I don’t understand why you were born human. Maybe, somehow, earth’s evolution adapted to us being here, created the rare bloodline and unique physiology that made you, and only you, compatible. We have scientists, our own people, working on it, but any answers they find just seem to result in more questions.

“Maybe if any of the scientific advances of our home world had been allowed to survive…” He shrugged. “To be honest, I think ultimately, it’s better that it didn’t. They tried to do too much, advance beyond their capability and our planet, our people, paid the price.”

“You don’t want that to happen here?” Jared stated.

“No, not at that cost.” He gazed up at the sun. “You should start back now,” he told him.

“What about you?”

“I’ll stay out here, until it’s time. When you get back you need to ask one of the women, whoever you’re most comfortable with, to help you. Avoid the men.  If one of them touches you, even a brush past, then you need to take a shower.”

Jared was confused. “Why?”

“Because my other self wouldn’t like that, it might even want to kill them.”

Jared swallowed, his heart speeding up in his chest. “But the girls, they’re safe?”

“I think so but you should avoid too much contact, better safe than sorry. The only scent I’ll want on you is me.”

Jared nodded. “I understand.”

 

The walk back to the house was both too fast and too slow. A part of him wanted to delay this as much as he could and the other just wanted it to be over. He thought of endless questions he should have asked Jensen but didn’t.

The idea of just taking off, running as far and as fast as he could, consequences be damned, kept dancing at the back of his mind. He’d considered it before, discounted it then and did the same now. Weirdness aside, he liked this place, cared deeply for these people who had adopted him as family. More than anything though, there was Jensen.

He had feelings for Jensen that he couldn’t explain, couldn’t put into words that made a whole lot of fucking sense, unless he admitted that he might actually be in love with him. Love wasn’t a word he used all that often and it was seldom a word that he truly meant; _‘love you too momma’, ‘you know I love you baby’_ , they were all convenient lies. Love seemed like an empty word, a word he never thought to use on Jeff and his family, or his Grandma, just because they meant so much to him, but maybe Jensen…

“You’re a screw up, Padalecki,” he said out loud.

 

He was grateful when the house finally came into view. Spending too much time alone in his head really wasn’t working for him, especially today. He climbed the wall onto the deck and just stood there. It had never occurred to him that the pool could be covered over, especially so seamlessly, it just looked like one huge deck now. At its center was that same nest of of floor cushions, pillows and throws he could remember from before and there were lights strung up, lanterns and the ornate fire bowl Kane had made.

There was no one outside, no one inside that he could see. He’d thought about who he might choose to help him on the walk back but really, there was only one choice.

He knocked on the door of the room, barely having to wait until it was answered.

“Jared, is everything okay?”

He nodded. “Can I come in for a minute?”

“Sure you can, honey,” Sam told him, letting him inside. “What can I do for you?”

“I wanted to ask you if you’d consider being the one to help me tonight.”

Sam just stared at him, eyes wide. “Me?”

“If you don’t want to that’s okay,” he assured her. “It’s just that Jensen said I should ask the person I’m most comfortable with.”

“Oh sweetie, I…” She stroked a hand over his cheek, large eyes fixed on his. “I’d be honoured,” she told him, drawing a sigh of relief from Jared. “Why don’t you go up to your room, have a nap or maybe watch some TV while I get the things you need together. I’ll be up later.”

“Thanks Sam,” he told her. “I really appreciate it.”

Jared didn’t think he’d be able to sleep but he dutifully crawled back into bed, knowing the traces of Jensen’s scent, that remained there, would calm him. He didn’t feel particularly tired, in fact he doubted he’d be able to sleep at all, but when he did eventually wake up the sun was already setting.

Sam was sat on the sofa near the window, her back to him, but she turned to face him as he sat up, using his fingers to comb his hair out of his face.

“I left you some sandwiches by the bed there, in case you were hungry.”

He could smell them, they were roast beef, his favourite, but the thought of eating them made his stomach churn.

“I’m not sure I could keep them down,” he admitted. “Sorry Sam.”

“That’s okay honey but try and drink the bottles of water I left for you.”

“I will. I think I might take a shower, actually. It might help me to wake up.”

 “It’s best you don’t,” She told him, “If you can help it. There’s Jensen’s scent on you right now, as well as your own. It’ll help him focus on you, keep him grounded.”

A thought occurred to him. “Is that why you’re sitting on the other side of the room?”

She smiled. “He explained some of that to you, huh?”

He nodded, remembering what Jensen had told him. “He was worried about keeping everyone safe.”

“Jensen’s a good man. The instincts of the High Alpha might be hot-wired into him but I think he has the strength to control them.”

“Has he been back to the house?” Jared wondered.

“No, he won’t risk that. I’m guessing that he’s still right where you left him. He goes out there on his own sometimes, when he has a lot on his mind. He meditates, something he and Jason learned in India, a long time ago. I tried it, but all that sitting around, cross legged, focusing on your inner whatever, doesn’t do it for me. I make bread instead,” she smiled. “It puts me in my calm place.”

Jared smiled. “I don’t do calm all that well,” he admitted.

“You could ask Jensen to teach you.”

“Or I could learn to make bread.”

Sam laughed. “Any time you want to give it a try, you just let me know.”

Jared found Sam very easy to talk to. She knew an awful lot about a lot of things. She listened too, interested in what he, or anyone else, had to say. His mom wasn’t too good at that, had never been much of a listener. She tended to talk down to you most of the time, dismissing whatever she had no interest in as unimportant, or having your head in the clouds. Maybe that was why his dad was the way he was. Maybe having his head in the clouds made it easier for him to just tune her out.

He felt the moon rise at around six, as a pleasant tingle that skittered across his skin, pulling him out of the lethargic state that had settled over him and making him feel restless. Sam produced a crossword puzzle book, still sealed in its plastic wrapping, and he settled in to that, sharing the clues he couldn’t get with Sam. It passed the time on and soothed his nerves, at least for a while. His awareness of the moon continued to grow with every passing hour. By the time eleven o’clock came around he felt as though he was bouncing around inside his own body. He wondered if Jensen felt the same way, if he was growing as hyper aware as Jared was, with every passing minute.

“It’s almost time, Jared,” Sam told him. “Jensen left two things for you in the bathroom, second cabinet to the left of the shower. Once you’re ready it will be time to make our way down.”

Jared’s cheeks flamed when he saw that Jensen had left a bottle of lube in there. There was a note on it in Jensen’s distinctive, copper-plate handwriting.

 

_Use as much as you can!_

 

Apart from that one, awkward attempt, after Brian’s story about the strap-on, Jared had left his ass well alone. It was embarrassing, especially with Sam next door, who had to know exactly what he was doing. Embarrassed or not he did the best he could, wiping off the excess from his hands and legs with a towel they’d used that morning.

The other thing Jensen left him came in a large, slim box. There was a note on that one too, but at least it made him smile.

 

_To protect your modesty!_

 

Inside the box was a dark blue silk robe, he slipped it on and then went back out to where Sam was waiting.

She smiled at him. “All set?”

He wasn’t, not really. In all honesty he was terrified. His legs felt like jelly as he made his way downstairs, fingers gripping tightly onto the handrail. He hesitated at the bottom, trying to push down the fight or flight response that threatened to overwhelm him. He could feel himself trembling.

“Deep breath Jared.” Sam’s voice came from behind him. “You can do this, you _know_ you can.”

He nodded, swallowing his rising gorge before taking that last step. Walking out onto the deck was no easier. He knew the others were out there, but he couldn’t look at them, he didn’t have the strength to do that.

He almost stumbled as he approached the nest they’d made for him, but he got there. Shaking fingers made him clumsy as he struggled to untie the belt of the robe. He felt foolish, awkward and felt his cheeks heat with his blush. He finally managed to shrug it off and fell, ungracefully to his knees in the centre of the nest.

He was aware of the lights, lanterns and the fire bowl that were lit all around the deck, but they seemed to dim when compared to the light of the moon.

He stared up at it as it hung there, directly overhead, so bright and clear that he couldn’t look away. He felt awash in its silver white light, so powerful that it seemed to sink beneath his skin, calming and comforting him.

The howl of a wolf rent the night air. It was the loneliest sound he had ever heard. No one should ever feel so sad, so desperately alone. A soft, desperate whine escaped Jared’s lips as he cried for that lonely sound to end. He was so desperate to offer comfort, to offer love, that he threw his head back, allowing a howl of his own to rip through him, calling out to his mate; to Jensen, he realised.

He could feel a wave of tension ripple through the scents of the others, but he wasn’t afraid, even when he heard something; something huge, land on the deck, rattling the boards beneath him before letting out a low, warning growl.

For a moment nothing moved. The night sounds seemed to stop, the silence broken only by the sound of something scenting the air. It moved slowly closer, huge nose coming to sniff between Jared’s legs and then his neck, taking it’s time. It rubbed up against him, making the tingling of his skin increase before suddenly pushing him down onto his hands and knees.

The fear, that he thought had gone away, came back now and he found himself wanting to fight; to rip and claw to get away. He began to struggle but was stopped abruptly as sharp, pointed teeth pressed down firmly and insistently into the junction between his neck and shoulder and a warning growl beside his ear paralysed any further thought of movement.

Something wet and huge moved against his ass, searching until it found his quivering entrance.

The first push drew a scream of pain from Jared. His hands ripped at the padded bed beneath him, scrabbling and tearing at it until they gripped tightly onto the wood beneath. The push continued, not letting up, forcing him open until it was fully sheathed inside of him.

Jared keened, desperate for the pain to stop, yet terrified that any further movement might rip him apart.

After a long, desperate moment the pain seemed to ease a little. His body was somehow adjusting to the huge presence inside of him as the agony slowly faded. The first movement made him gasp and claw deeper at the wood beneath him with his fingernails but then a scent, Jensen’s scent, but somehow ten times stronger, settled over him, calming him and pushing his fear away.

“Jensen?”

The growl, that had terrified him, rumbled into what was almost a purr of reassurance as he began to slowly move inside of him. It was uncomfortable at first but then, as Jensen’s movements changed – became smoother. It morphed into something different, something tender and loving. A warm, wet tongue flicked over the bite marks, soothing them and turning a fiery wound into a site of pleasure.

The movements inside him were no longer painful, every stroke seemed to touch a spot deep inside of him that sent wave after wave of intense pleasure racing through his body.

He could hear Jensen, a human side of Jensen, panting above him. Fingers, without claws caressed his sweat soaked skin until Jensen gave a sudden deep groan. The cock inside of him stopped moving and started to swell within him, pushing against the over sensitive spot inside of him until he could barely move, barely breathe. The moment seemed endless until Jensen suddenly gasped out his name.

“Jared!”

A wave of howls filled the air all around him and were echoed in the distance, over and over again. They were the last thing he heard before exhaustion overtook him. He was only vaguely aware of strong arms wrapping around him, lifting him as though he weighed nothing. And, as he drifted into sleep, Jensen’s lips, close to his ear whispered the words; “I love you.”

 

Epilogue.

“Jared? Jared Padalecki, is that you?” A chirpy familiar voice called from behind. Jared stopped and turned to face the woman who was hurrying to catch up to them, a broad smile on her face.

Jared grinned back. “ _Hey_ Monica!” He turned to Jensen who had moved closer with the stroller, a protective note to his scent. “This is Monica Crawford, an old friend of mine. We used to go to school together.”

“Hi.” Jensen relaxed and gave her the full benefit of his killer smile. Jared grinned when he saw her blush.

“It’s really good to see you Jared. Your mom said you were living in Canada now. Are you moving back home?”

“No, this was just a visit. We’ve been to see Jeff and grandma.” He knew Monica wouldn’t be surprised that he wasn’t visiting his mother.

She looked in the stroller that Jensen was pushing. “And who might this little lamb be?”

“This is our son, “Ross Lupe .” He told her.

“Lupe ?”

“It’s a French name.” he explained. “Jensen, my husband, originates from France.”

“Your _husband_?” She gazed warmly at Jensen. “Well hell, Jared, I never saw that one coming, but you sure know how to pick ‘em.” This time it was Jensen’s turn to blush. “I’m _real_ happy for you.”

He hadn’t realised it before but there was something about Monica, something about the sincere eyes and the gingery blonde curls, that reminded him of Lucy Gregson.

“Thanks Monica, it’s really good to see you again.”

“Will you be sticking around for a while? It would be nice to grab a drink and catch up. Tell Jensen a few things about you that he might not know.”

Jensen grinned. “I found out quite a lot from Jeff, but that sounds tempting…”

“But,” Jared sighed; “We’re due to catch a flight in a couple of hours, which is probably lucky for me. Another time,” he told her.

“I’ll hold you to that.” She smiled. “It was good to meet you Jensen.”

“You too.”

She gave Jared a hug. “You take care now, both of you. You have a lovely family.”

He kissed her cheek, “You too, Monica.”

“Hey, a silly question,” she said as she was about to turn away. “Did you ever get that whole blood thing sorted out?”

“Wasted trip as it turned out; some kind of administrative error.”

“Well consider yourself lucky, the government shut that place down by all accounts. It all sounded pretty suspicious to me.”

Jensen squeezed Jared’s shoulder. “Sounds like you had a lucky escape.”

“Maybe someone was looking out for me.”

Jensen smiled. “I think you might be right.”

 

 

THE END.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

****


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